A Perilous Mixup
by Storyteller Balthanax
Summary: A human recluse is thrown into china- but, wait- there's...animals, that talk and walk? He's no master of Kung Fu, and it looks like his very appearance has something to do with an evil long buried beneath the earth- and what's a guy to do? After KFP 3, we'll see how the story progresses, right? Updates are sssslllooowww, working around it.
1. Chapter 1

OOC note- updates will be slow if there are updates at all, my dudes- all I have at the moment is my phone for this. ;-; I'll do what I can, though! Short chapters for now, though.

Let's get ourselves started, then!

\--

All he could remember was getting hit on the head, very hard. Between that and everything else that had happened, he was relatively content with what- or where he was- even if that only ended up being a particularly soft patch of grass somewhere.

'Salu'ir', as he was soon to become known as, was a regular guy- he held a job somewhere in the rolling city spires and lived elsewhere, drove this way and that, shopped here and there- if there was any word to explain or describe his life, it was 'boring'- so much so that he knew it and felt it, in fact, and became enamored in the ways of which to escape this reality. So much for that english major, hm?

For, soon, he found himself engrossed within the virtual worlds he could explore in his computer- 'Azeroth', 'Tamriel', alternate earths and alternate worlds, realities all contained behind a screen- somewhere he could be a hero, be a damned...-something-, that mattered, for worse or for better.

And, see, he never was the particularly 'social' type, so it was a mystery to him why a van had suddenly rolled up beside him and why out had come a masked thug who whacked him over the head with a club, causing the world to go black as he fell unconcious. And now, here he was, trying not to wake up, Ironically.

He supposed he'd have to find his way out of here eventually, so he opened his eyes and stared up.

The sky was oddly...golden-blue, little to no clouds. Trees reached up towards the sky with a thick green bark that seemed segmented, and... well, some smaller birds were chirping in the distance.

The man sighed- a small burst of wind made him thankful for the hoodie and jeans he'd grabbed. Fall was still on it's way, and soon winter's cold grip would take his small town.

He propped himself up on his arms and grabbed his phone from his pocket, tapping in the password before speaking. "Hey Siri." "How can I be of assistance?"

He smiled- technology was excellent.

"Where am I?" "Searching for nearest 'Baker of Pie'." Scratch that.

"You don't appear to have an internet connection, would you like to establish one?" "Yes." "Accessing... I'm sorry, but this service is currently unavailable. Try again later."

He glanced around. Trees and forests reached around in nearly all directions, stretching forward to an unending expanse. A road wasn't far from where he was standing.

I say road, I mean...like, one of those dirt paths, some gravel here and there. A path. Yeah.

He crossed to the path and looked around for a moment, looking to the sun briefly before picking a direction and hoping for the best.

\--

Night was falling when he first saw the town. It was...quaint, smaller- a different type of architecture then he was used to, too, upon a closer look. But, he'd sort it all out in the end- right?

Admittedly, he was beginning to speculate that he had been taken far, far off from anywhere familiar- he was certain it was still -somewhere- close, just...not that familiar-territory familiarity.

That was only heightened upon spotting the small, squat creature at the edge of town. Sal lifted a hand to wave, but the figure was quickly retreating. But for the briefest moment...

He thought he saw ears on the short little man.

He shook his head and continued. Entering under the gate- some asian influence- and looked around. Everything was of the same influence as well, from the small houses to the open pavilions.

He looked up at a sign with a roaring fireplace next to a collection of characters he didn't bother reading, turning to enter through the door.

The man's gaze met wi-

Okay, what?

A...'sheep', huddled in a robe, looked his way and offered a smile, speaking in a fluent dialect of asian tong- before the gaze focused and they realized the human standing before them was- indeed- human.

The two froze. Seconds stretched into moments.

"AAAAAAAAH." "BAAAAAAAAH!" "WHAT. WHAT IS- WHA- AAAAAAAAH."

They pointed at one another, screaming. But the slam of a door behind Sal caught his attention, and he turned to face an armored figure- squat and short- brandishing a staff, pig ears flopping from the sides of it's helmet. It waved a spear in his direction.

"...WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!" Slowly backing away, his gaze shifted to look at the door at the far end and the stairwell it hid behind it- before making a break for it. Pressing the door aside, he jogged up the steps and wheeled to the left, eyeing a shuttered window- and jumping for it.

He fleflew past it onto a tiled rooftop, landing with an 'oompf'. He turned back to stare at the window, eyeing the shouting noises before turning and making a mad dash from rooftop to rooftop, ungraceful leaps and an unsteady momentum being all that carried the poor man away from the ruccus he'd made.

"Ohgodohgodohgod", he gasped, running over to an alcove and hiding behind it. Glancing down at the street below, he eyed a collection of 'animals' going about nervously, awakened in all the commotion.

"Okay, logically put this together, Al, you were kidnapped by men in a van and are now in a feudal-china-esque town in a bamboo forest, filled with animal people things."

"I got drugged." He decided. "Only... REASONABLE, explanation." Sal looked down at his hands, flexing his fingers which had become raw with gripping and running.

He was tired. But a quick movemen-

 **Thud.**

\--

He awoke tied to a chair, arms bound with rope. His clothing had been removed- down to his neon-green undies- and folded aside.

Fear gripped him in an all-too-familiar chill, a very real fear that seemed to magnify everything. He wasn't tripping on some injection, he was lost in a very new world where animals evidently evolved in man's place.

Or something similar, at least. He just knew that they weren't wearing fursuits.

The door opened, and a small figure entered- setting aside a small candle to light the small prison. It was clad in great brown-and-green robes, using a staff- though two great, twitching ears and a swishing tail trailed behind it.

It lifted a scroll out of nowhere, and the etched sigils pulsed quietly. Something ached in his head, a migrane throbbed and rumbled for a moment- before fading. He blinked blearily.

"...good, you seem awake, now." He looked down at the robed 'thing', blinking- it looked much more humanoid, between it's fur that tied together like one of those old chinese-master style ones. He chuckled, shaking his head. "I take it you understand me, as well, now?"

"...AAAAAAAAAAH-" He did what came naturally- in this case, screaming in mortal terror. A jab of the small man's staff broke him from his reverie. "Sht. No screaming."

"..." He looked over the figure as he spoke- small, harmless, but the hands...the fur was matted and rough, as if it had undergone intense abuse and was holding together.

"Am I in...where...okay, I'm just...confused." He blinked. "Can, uh. We...talk?" The small man seemed taken aback for a moment before sighing. "Oh god, another one." "Another what?" "Nothing."

"Alright, we can talk- as you're not going anywhere any time soon." He gestured to the chair. "You are in China, and through a scroll of Kung Fu- a lesson of the mind- you have come to speak our language- Chinese." He smiled- it was warm, an 'old man' smile.

"And you?" He blinked- traditional names wouldn't make sense here, as- well, china. Best he could do was try to blend in, so...think, damn it-

His memory turned to his WoW character roster- his rogue, Saluir. It would work.

"Salu'ir, uh- I'm a human, evidently those... aren't a thing- and I have NO IDEA what this is or why I'm here."

The small man waved a gnarled hand behind him. "...ah, rude of me. And, well- You don't seem like the type to be malicious," he stated. The door opened behind him, a goose wearing a golden vest and trousers offering a steeping cup of tea. He sat before him on the floor.

"I am Master Shifu- now, 'Salu'ir'- tell me your story."


	2. Chapter 2

"I am Master Shifu, and now- 'Salu'ir'- tell me your story."

"Really? I mean, it's kind of boring." "No story is boring, they may simply lack action, is all." He took a sip of his teacup, shaking his head. "That depends, 'Salu'ir', on how the story is told, though, is it not?"

"You know what a computer is?" "A what?" "My point exactly. Look, I'm just a civilian who got whacked over the head and thrown into the forest full of animal people with Asian Architecture, and I am REALLY getting the feeling that I'm not in the 'Big Apple' anymore." He blinked his eyes, huffing. "I'd really just like to get some sleep, is all, but-" He thought for a moment.

"The duck called you 'Master'. Why?" He sipped from his teacup, emptying the contents.

"I am trained in Kung Fu- a master of it, in my own right, and among many others." He smiled. "I train some and help others, and protect peace where I may in the Valley of Peace."

"...so this isn't York." "No." "Dang." "Not even that little china-town place? Or was that L.A.? I never was clear on that..." "No."

"I had received a notice that there was a peculiar person dashing from rooftop to rooftop while avoiding detainment. So, with my students predisposed- and desiring some action for myself, hmhm- I made my way to you myself and incapacitated you, which leads me to my next question-" He nods. "Why were you running?"

"You don't know how to kick rear and people start screaming at you, and pigs with spears start appearing. What's the logical reaction?" "Ah, yes. So you ran- understandable."

Sal shrugged. "Either way, it's how I got up there, and then in here. Speaking of which, did you have to undress me beforehand?"

"You're new, a new creature- nonetheless, the creatures about here were certainly interested in your physiology." Shifu nodded. "You...seem alr-"

The goose kicked burst the door open, frantic and desperate. "Ma- Master Shifu-! Bandits, raiding-"

"Hmn. Excuse me, Sal- we'll talk later. For now, rest." He stood, turning to the door and stepping out. The room went quiet, except for distant shouts beyond.

The human strained against his bonds, struggling to find release. Eventually, he slumped, huffing.

Footsteps rattled down the hallway, prompting him to look up. "Master Shi-"

He was greeted by the visage of a grinning wolf, turning to look over him. "My, my- what is -this-? Some sort of, hairless monkey? Where's your tail?" The tail swished back and forth as he twirled his axe, approaching bit by bit.

He strained twicefold, adrenaline pumping through his veins. "OH HELL NO, NO NO, NO- SO MUCH NO-" "Sht, quiet now, you don't want any attention drawn, do you?" He grinned. "You'll sell to a scientist for a pretty penny, I'll say that..."

He reached a clawed hand forward, cackling. Salu knit his eyes shut tight...

Thumping followed by a growl and a shout trailed by a thud met his ears. He slowly opened his eyes...

A figure strode toward him. Flowing orange fur, bright yellow eyes-

Glistening claws and fangs with a swishing, striped tail.

"OHGODATIGER- I'LL TAKE THE WOLF BACK, PLEASE DON'T- OH GOD HOLY- PLEASE NONONO-" "Shut up," it commanded, and he obeyed, cowed. "Master Shifu was near here. I'm returning from my own mission, and as I saw him rush out, he said to find..." 'She' gestured to him. "Whatever you are. I'll understand this later- for now, though, can you run?"

"Yeah. Let me get some pants, on, though." Her ear flicked in annoyance. "... alright." He nodded vigorously as she clawed apart his bonds, turning to the door.

"...also, Miss-" "Master Tigress." "Tiger Lady, yeah, uh- thanks."

She huffed. "I'm doing as my master asks."

\--

He wheezed, pulling the hood around his head tighter with the ropes in his jackey. "Jeese, howsi's...haaah..." Salu squatted on his knees, gasping. "That...is a LOT of stairs, and by...haaaah...by extension, Cardio..."

Tigress rolled her eyes. "The bedrooms are off down that path, the guest room is at the far end. Master Shifu will find you again in the morning in the mess hall- follow the smell of food."

He nodded as she stepped off down another path. "...thanks again!" She didn't respond, rubbing the back of his head as he looked back towards the lodge- shrugging before making his way there.

\--

A tapping at his door awoke him, disrupting his sleep. Looking around the paper-walled room, he realized that, once more, this was very much real- the final lid in the coffin in his former life. He looked at the door, eyeing the small figure that cast a shadow through the paper's light.

Salu shook his head, grunting. Standing and stretching, he stepped over to the door and opened it.

"Hello, Salu'ir." The small old man-thing bowed briefly. "I've done the research I was able to, and meditated on your plight- and I believe the answer, as with all things- lays in a higher power." He tilted his head, smiling patiently. "Walk with me."

The two stepped out and began to walk, the human popping and cracking his neck on occasion. "So, the...answer lies in a higher power somewhere or somehow?" "Yes, in a sort of energy we call 'Qi', a force that lives within all things and permeates the world. Meditation reveals a very strong...pull, towards you- an amassing of raw energy yet untapped, a convergence of Qi."

He blinked. "So, I've got magical mojo-juice power running through my every vein and I don't know about it? Hell, I can't even use it?" Salu chuckled. "What, did I pick it all up at a dollar store somewhere?" Shifu shook his head.

"I intend to teach you to use it- as I also felt a similar gathering of Qi not far from the forest you wandered in from- perhaps we can unravel this mystery and set you on your way home, hmn?" He stopped at the entrance to the temple, looking down the stairwell. "I am hoping we might act before catastrophe can occur- if an entirely new race of animals is appearing, well-" he chuckled- "I was taught that the universe does not act without reason. And, now- any moment, now..."

After a moment, shouts and gasping began to roll out from the bottom of the stairs. "...haaah-! WOO-!" The two stepped back to allow a larger figure to exit the stairs, crouching over on his knees to catch his breath- he was clothed in a cloak and a large disc hat- whatever those things are.

"Ah, Po- welcome back. I trust your home is doing alright?" "Yeah, we...huhf, the..." "Stairs are a killer." "Right, dud-" He stopped, looking over the human as the hat fell to reveal his twitching black ears.

"..." He looked back at the panda. Shifu tapped his staff on the ground. "Dragon Warrior- we have work to do."


	3. Chapter 3

AN - Hey guys! I've been doing what I can as far as brainstorming and planning can do, and I'm pretty set on an idea that might work- here's to hoping, though, right?

Anyways, into the madness!

\--

The two stared at one another for a brief moment, blinking. "Dragon Warrior- we have work to do."

Po let out a hollar, grinning from ear to ear. "Ohcool, I- what, is it some sort of construct, some sort of- uh- some sort of elemental, type, thingy? What is it, it's COOL!"

"Hey!" "Ohmygod it has a mind of its own too." "Yeah, and- I- jeese, not even our pandas are this big, do you weightlift?" "Nah, bro, I just eat a lot. And spar." "Cool. Wish that worked for me." "I'll show you, then, Please- Master Shifu, can we keep hi-"

"That's enough out of both of you," the older man barked, tapping his gnarled staff to the ground with a resounding 'thunk'. "We have work to do, regarding our new acquaintance- you can feel the furious amounts of raw energy swirling around him, yes, Po?" The panda nodded vigorously. "Yeah, is he like- a, uh- some sorta' 'secret master' or somethi-"

"I think Salu'ir can best describe his situation to you-" he gestured to the human. "...after all, much to my dismay, there, are- ah- there are two of you now..." He sighed. "Anyways. Salu'ir?"

"Okay, uh- I'm just an ordinary guy, who got kidnapped for who-knows-what reason and when I woke up, it was in that forest over there-" He pointed off to the Bamboo forest- "Then I went to a town but the innkeeper was a goat, and we screamed at each other so I ran across the rooftops, an-"

"Get to the point." "Right, uh. I'm from another world or alternate world-thingy."

Po stood for a moment, taking in the information. "...dude." "Yeah?" "That- is- AWESOME!" "It's a bit confusing, but still, I KNOW RIGHT?! Except, I, uh, can't do Kung Fu. To fight all the, uh. The things." Shifu waved his staff between the two taller creatures. "Back to the matter at hand-"

He gestured back to Po. "Teach him how to activate his inner Qi, and bring it to the surface. After that- we are to find who we can and march out to where he supposedly found himself- you can feel the other great convergence of raw Qi there as well, yes, Po?" The greater Panda paused again, his ear twitching as he seemed to focus on something distant. "...yeah, I can feel it."

"Then it's settled- Dragon Warrior, take him somewhere quiet and teach him to tap into his latent Qi." Po grinned and nodded, waving the human over. "This way!"

Salu'ir rubbed the back of his head, grinning. He liked this new guy.

\--

The two exited the path on a cliff overlooking the valley, a peach tree creaking and groaning in the gentle winds. They paused to catch their breath before admiring the view, the human taking it all in as Po stepped forward and took a lotus-meditation stance.

"...say, uh, the peach tree, is it blessed or anything? Or can I eat the fruit from it?" "It's pretty, uh, pretty sacred, yeah- didn't stop me from eating a ton at once, this one time, when I got really stressed-" "Stress eating?" "Yep." "I get it."

Salu'ir turned and sat before Po, clearing away some smaller leaves for room. "...so, what- deep breathing exercises, 'look deep into myself'?" Po shook his head. "Nah- well, actually...kinda. You obviously aren't the most...'peace of mind' person, are you?" "Nope. I'm so un-peaceful that it's kind of peace in itself."

Po stood, looking over the sitting human. "Right, well- only thing I can think of is giving you a jump of energy right here and now, and then to let you figure it out from there." He tapped the man's shoulder quizzically. "Remember, you're just trying to bring it all back to the surface, not do anything with it."

"What do you me-" He was interrupted as the Panda suddenly thrust a spear-handed strike into his back- and yet, a vivid burst of raw Qi- he could feel it!- rocketed through his systems, making him tingle and prickle. He closed his eyes, focusing as he felt it fade- it felt like it was sinking away into his stomach's pit...

He dug himself under the sinking feeling and growled, let it rise into a shout- he could feel more of it rising to the surface, beautiful, raw Qi, twisting and intermingling in a splendid rapture. His form was illuminated with a soft gold aura and outline upon opening his eyes, and while initially shocking, he grew to understand it- to the tingling in his fingertips and the tensity of his muscles, his every fiber-

It all faded as he lost control, the unearthed energies receding back into the human as he exhaled heavily. Maintaining the raw level of Qi had been exhausting- he felt the toll beginning to creep in now, as exhaustion threatened to take him from the waking world and into the welcoming arms of slumber- but he fought, swaying in place. Po stepped back in front of the human, grinning.

"OhmygodyesyesYES! You DO have all of that Qi boiling up inside you! But then that means-" The panda thought for a moment. "There's something big going on here, yeah, and you're at the center of it, looks like." Po nodded slowly.

"Okay, uh...sure. Yeah." Salu'ir shook his head. "That was a- uh. A thing. That...tingled. A lot." "First time's always the most intense, don't worry." Po grinned, sitting down beside the human. "Jeese, man." "Any idea what I've gotten myself into?"

"If it's anything like my past events? Lotta Kung-Fu awesomeness, and little time for lunch."

\--

"Wait, so...turtle-guy was in the Spirit Realm the whole time?" "Yeah, I was surprised too, but THEN he was all mystical and said stuff like 'answer was inside you'." "Typical old Wisemen, apparently most of what we need in lif e can be solved by cutting ourselves open and looking at our insides. Actually, now that I think about it, the black market might-"

Shifu tapped his staff as the two approached, the midday sun blazing.

"I felt the surge. Do you think you could summon that same power any time soon, Salu'ir?" Shifu turned to look at the human, head cocked.

"Not soon, I... I'm really tired. And hungry. Feels like I just put everything in my body to work and gave it all more than it could handle until it came close to the breaking point." He shook his head, brown hair shifting to and fro. "Nope."

"Alright- well. Po- get him some food and show him back to the bedrooms, let him properly rest." The panda nodded, turning to face him with a grin. "You like noodles?"

\--

Night fell, and Salu was still wide awake- the warm meal in his stomach helped him soon drift off, however, into another world- the sweet kiss of unconciousness...

 _He saw the emerald-grassed plains of the new lands before him, burning with violet embers. An orange and purple skylight twisted and churned in the lands beyond, a haunting glow to their lumniscent pyre._

 _The plains were littered with bodies- some still, some still clinging to life with ragged breaths, crimson still coating their faint outlines. A single man stood at the far distance- clad in heavy armor, slowly marching forward while letting his blade swing to and fro, like a baton- a heavy greatsword, writhing with an energy the same color of indigo as the mad chaotic flames consuming the land._

 _Seeing him filled Salu with an unholy rage, unfettered and unbound- raw and all-consuming. He felt the sensation, the prickling sensation of Qi flooding his form, his body, his every aching fiber and muscle. He last saw himself rushing forward, greeted with that sadistic grin and those glowing crimson eyes._

 _Glowing eyes, in the darkness._

Feral and angry.

Salu'ir realized he was staring a pair of familiar, angry eyes back into their sockets in the darkness of his room, becoming aware of a presence hovering over his body. A feline tail curled around his ankle as a paw slowly crept forward to his face.

"AAAAAAAAH-" His voice was muffled by her paw which clamped over his mouth in a matter of seconds, eyes wide with fear. Tigress slowly tilted her head, feline fangs glinting in the soft moonlight permeating the paper walls.

"Ssshhh. I'm simply here to lay out some...ground rules, alright?" He stared her dead in the eyes, slowly nodding.

"...now you've got a part to play, in some...plan," she whispered. "Do your business and be gone. The Jade Palace has had enough carnage and chaos for one mortal lifetime- gods forbid if you end up dragging more in."

"Fail to leave, and- well..." She flexed her hand, digging her claws into his cheek while the powerful muscles pressed his head down even further. "I'm not known for playing nice."

"Am I clear?"

He nodded quietly and vigorously.

"Good. Now go back to sleep- and remember..." She lifted her paw, and before he knew it, the presence had lifted.

\--

Salu'ir treaded a ways behind Po as they approached the Five and Shifu, keeping quiet for the most part. Something was just setting wrong with him- between the oddly vivid dream and Tigress's 'visit', it was all rather discomforting- but, hey, you do what you can, right?

The old man tapped his staff as they approached and bowed in greeting. "Hello, Dragon Warrior- Salu'ir- I would like for you to meet the five." He turned. "Monkey, Crane, Viper, Mantis, and Tigress." Each bowed and spoke their greeting except for Tigress, who crossed her arms and glared at the human. He shrunk behind Po a little at the withering look, and as her gaze drifted to the larger ursine's it softened- just briefly, but certainly noticable. The Dragon Warrior shook his head, and she seemed to let out a frustrated huff in return.

"Now, together- we'll be investigating the upset disturbance of Qi in the Bamboo forest, and seeing if it has anything to do with our guest- or with anyone that should need aid." He gestured to Salu briefly before down to the town below. Tapping his staff twice, a pair of servants brought forth a heavy cloak, tying it around the human and propping up the hood before shuffling away, all before he could coherently react. "Hey, wh-"

"Simply a disguise, so that you can move about unhindered." Shifu nodded (likely to himself) before making out towards the stairs.

\--

They reached a familiar glade, Salu leading them to the spot where he'd found himself the night of his arrival. Hell, an indentation still remained faintly in the grass where he had been laying. Closing his eyes and shrugging, he looked about. "This is the place."

Shift waved a hand. "Mantis, Viper, climb the trees and search for anything peculiar- both up high and in the distance. Monkey, Tigress, keep an eye out around us. Crane, help us look around the glade." The five sprang to action as Po sat in a lotus position, Shifu doing likewise. Salu was left standing awkwardly, watching them.

"...uh. So..." Moments passed by before he received instructions- '"Sit."

He sat uneasily, legs crossed and his hands in his lap. "Now, unleash your Qi- tap into it and bare it to this glade."

He closed his eyes and focused. Dig deep, into that pit in his stomach, take that colder part of his energy and make it rise, make it flood through him-

Visions assaulted his gaze, blocking his sight. He heard a voice, echo forth.

 ** _The Black Sun rises, far in the north-_**

 ** _Malice and Fury guide his hand._**

 ** _By time, forgotten, and by hatred unbound-_**

 ** _All before him will fade unto Sand._**

 ** _Heed my warning, boy, heed it well-_**

 ** _Heed it you warriors, mortal men-_**

 ** _The last human prepares to rise-_**

 ** _Balthanax the Consumer will devour AGAIN!_**

Violet fire roared before him on scorched plains, searing and consuming all. Screams and laughter flooded his ears, as well as slow, gravelly footsteps.

A face filled his mind, his vision- gleaming crimson eyes without pupils and teeth, thin as needles, knit together like a cloth, grinning at him from the chasm of madness, spoke in a whispering, deep voice-

" _I am coming."_


	4. Chapter 4

_"I am coming."_

 _"I am coming."_

 _ **"I am coming."**_

Salu'ir awoke in a cold sweat, sitting upright in a series of gasps that filled his lungs with air as if he was drowning where he lay. The darkness of night was heavy in the air, blanketing the paper room in the dim moonlight. Dampness on his forehead led his gaze down to a folded cloth knocked to the floor when he had sat up, moisture puddling around it. Glancing about and struggling to control his breathing, he drew in a few breaths before laying back down, slowly but surely, and staring up at the ceiling.

"He's coming," he murmured, thoughts muddied. He felt both like he had been sleeping and had run a marathon all in one. Looking at himself beneath the thin blanket revealed he had once again been stripped, down to a simple pair of linen pants held around the waist by a thin cord. He was both clean and unclean, as if he had just stayed in the bed for days- which, he was realizing, was most likely the case. The image of that face flashed in his mind once more, the gleaming red eyes and the thin, needle-like teeth against a featureless darkness.

Who was this thing, this beast? His head hurt, his brain seared- everything was crawling and aching and struggling to reaffirm itself.

Man, he needed to stop getting knocked out.

Footsteps echoed down the hallway, padding in place of actual footfalls- he fell back onto his bed and knit his eyes shut, tempering the rising of his chest. But h-

 _The towel!_

Too late, now- the paper door opened a crack, and he held still, waiting in quiet and anxious silence for agonizing moments that seemed to stretch into an eternity.

 _Padt, padt, padt, padt, padt..._

Silence.

A sharp pain pricked his arm. His eyes shot open and he sat up straight, shouting his pain and swinging a fist that the tiger narrowly avoided, orange eyes gleaming. Her teeth became bared as her tail swished behind her in an angry fashion, hands reaching to curl around his arms and pin them to his sides. He thrashed in turn, gasping for breath.

"Calm down. You're recovering from a state of paralysis-like dormancy th-" "SPEAK, SENSE-" "You're waking up after a long time and you're weak, so stop." He slowly ceased his panicked thrashing, huffing for breath after the laborious effort. "...wha-"

"We'll explain later," she stated. "For now...well. I have a bone to pick." The gleam in her orange eyes flared further. "I warned you not to bring trouble here, but what did you end up finding? Hmn?"

"I have NO IDEA what you're talking about except for that I've been trapped in my head for-" "2 Days." "-two days, thank you- with this creepy face and with chanting in my head of 'I am coming'. So, if it's all the same to you, tiger-lady-" "Tigress-" "Same difference, IF IT'S ALL THE SAME TO YOU, I AM GOING TO ACTUALLY REST NOW."

She paused for a moment, taken aback by his outburst. She huffed, feline tail swishing about as she stood, turning back to the door. "Then rest. And... we're going to have a long, long talk about what's been happening, and what's going to happen." "Ooh, spicy, now gittouttama' friggin' room so I can sleep in some semblance of peace."

An annoyed snort blew from her nostrils as she shut the door firmly. He fell back onto the bed and sighed, rubbing the arm she'd pricked- enough to cause pain, and yet not to draw blood.

\--

Morning came without relent, and he took what sleep he could- not much- before the sun came to wake him. Seeing no use in relenting himself, he stood before he heard a series of gongs.

A clatter of doors outside shuttered open as footsteps sounded, a resounding 'Good Morning Master' coming from a chorus of voices externally- two of which he recognized rather distinctly. Would he dare try to peek?

No, he couldn't risk it, not yet- the idea of any group's attention made his stomach churn and heart quicken. His focus quickly returned to the retreating footsteps, and he gave a breath of relief.

One set paused, tapping the floor with a set of claws that sent shivers up his spine. The set then continued down to the other's way, soon fading into silence.

Once he was sure he was alone, he got up from bed- well, tried, anyways, but fell rather short as he stumbled down to his knees with ragged gasps. Salu's fingers ran over the smoothed planks, feeling every grain and fiber in detail, every bend and curve, the way it groaned and creaked at his every touch.

Since when was he this receptive? He lifted his hand to rub his fingers, feeling the fine coat of both regular dust and leftover sawdust between his hands. He could feel the ebbing flow of life from the wood- the slowed manner in which it was decaying, from which Qi was-

 _From how fast Qi was leaving the wood and letting it die._

He fell to his back, landing on his rear. The world seemed alight in vivid, streaming colors- plants bloomed outside of the paper walls in a bright color of green, and he saw darting figures of blue in the distant grey outline of the building ahead- one golden mass in particular in the familiar shape of Po.

It was... overwhelming, practically, all of this raw color and information hitting his mind at once. He knew it to be Qi, deep in his heart, he knew- this was all natural and yet so, so new, so unnatural that it was almost jarring.

He closed his eyes and focused, breathing rapid. He was scared, he realized- scared of all of this. He never asked for this, he never wanted some great part in a legacy- hell, he missed the days where his biggest concern was what the next DLC pack in ESO was going to be, not fighting some great evil in some psuedo-china land with random talking kung-fu animals.

He just wanted to sit somewhere and cry, or just...fade. He wanted to be human again, where being human in itself didn't cause him to get threatened by a giant talking tiger with nerves of steel or prattled at by some wise old raccoon-man thing.

Opening his eyes to wipe his tears, he realized the lights had faded. He was seeing normal again- brushing his fingertips against the wood gave him no supernatural intuition about the state of the wood, it just... felt like wood.

In that moment, he struck a realization- maybe the way to get home was to play whatever game was set out for him, and his prize would be returning back to wherever he had come from. Either way, he was only getting himself nowhere as he was- no, he needed to get working if he wanted to get anything done.

\--

Tigress closed the door behind her, stepping up and nudging the human's arm. "Hmph."

"I'm up, yeah- I'm up-" He swatted at her, sitting up. "...so, I imagine you want to interrogate me."

"Yes." She blinked at his bluntness, silently grateful that he at least had the courage to remain so straightforward- though it irked her to a degree that he was seeing so clearly through her to her intentions, at least to this encounter. In her experience, there never was a 'small progression'.

"So. Fire away." The tail flicked about in an annoyed fashion as the tiger grunted. "I want to hear from you what happened when you appeared in that glade. My master, he is...wise, but I want to judge you for myself."

"Ever the detective, hmn?" Again, that annoyed snort. "Alright, so, from me appearing in that glade? I'll give you what I know."

Now, we all know the story- I won't make you suffer through it again. Insert instead just a quick montage, if you will, of Tigress getting more and more annoyed as he makes motions with his hands.

"...and here we are, everything is hurting and you're about to break something of mine." He bowed his head.

She crossed her arms. "Let me see your hands." "Going to read my palms?" "Just do it." He shrugged and lifted his right hand.

"...soft. Not a day's work in your life, at least nothing enough to toughen you. There's merit to your story after all- you're just naturally an asshole." "Why thank you, I take pride in my art." Her ear batted as her eyes momentarily dilated, sending another cold shiver up his spine as she forcibly restrained herself from attacking. "...ple-" "Got it."

"Alright, I... You're leaving after all of this, that still stands, but..." She shook her head. "I need to process this. Master Shifu will be here soon- you'll know what's next soon." She turned to leave.

"Hey, Tigress-" She paused at the very first use of her full name. "-sorry, for the... look, I'll work on it. My attitude."

She silently exited. He fell back on the bed with a grunt.

\--

Master Shifu entered at the orange of the afternoon, blinking as the human sat up to greet him. "Ah, you- you're awake. I hope Tigress's visit did not startle you too much."

"Nah, I came to a bit of a...revelation. I want to get home way more than I think any of you want to get this done with- and the only way seems to be through the fire. So..." He let the saying trail off, directing a pointed look at Shifu. "In I might as well go, right?" He stroked his beard in thought.

"...there is a fire in your eyes, a new flame that did not burn before, hmn." Shifu nodded. "Well. I ask- after you took your meditation stance at the glade, do you remember what happened?" "Just a vision that evidently tormented me for three days." Shifu shook his head.

"You floated and recited the prophecy I have no doubt is burned into your mind, and then..." He shook his head. "Your Qi became distorted and twisted, dark- sinister, for a brief twinge of a moment- you were an avatar of pure fury." Shifu's old eyes watched over him. "It still permeates you now, a faint afterglow, a faint shadow..."

"Then you fell to the ground, weakened- holding so much energy damaged you nearly beyond repair. And yet you began to heal, once we got back and properly treated you- at an astonishing rate." The old man bowed his head. "...well. That is what we know, now- and as you walk among us again, I ask again- return to that glade, and see where it leads. There..." He shook his head. "There must be something more, than just a dark omen."

"Might as well, I guess." Shifu blinked. "So quickly, you agree to go forward? Without any guidance or even the basics of Kung Fu to support you?"

"We have a saying where I'm from- 'Time is Money'. The more time we waste, the less of a chance we have to move- we heard it ourselves, the dark prophecy-whatever is moving, so we need to get a move-on too."

\--

The glade was filled with moonlight under the waning crescent, Salu'ir's footfalls against the grass and dry leaves crisp and stark in the silent night besides the smaller, feral birds that chirped and cricked. The human was accompanied only by Shifu this time, the old man following close behind- humming to himself in a peaceful, calming way.

The ground was scorched and burned in the carving of a runed circles, unnerving etchings in the dirt and grass that refused to fade any time soon. Salu'ir looked over before sitting in the center of the circle and assuming a lotus position, clearing his thoughts and taking a deep breath. Shifu raised an eyebrow- "Perhaps that is a human's trait- no natural ferocity, but such as with pandas, you learn and adapt quicker." "Hmn?" "You have no inner peace- no Kung Fu- but after vague directions, you have already figured out how to draw it forth at will in meditation- no small feat."

"Yeah, I'm...I need a lot more practice with the magic mojo, but...it works. Now- anyways-" His eyes snapped shut and once more, he prodded around for that feeling- that cold pit somewhere in his gut...

 _Come forward!_

Once more, he felt the soothing chill of Qi envelop him, like ice water after a day in heat. He felt the anchors of Qi rooted to this place, upon observation. But as he took hold of it, another spike- elsewhere, in the earth-

 _His vision faded to a mountain peak- on the side was an abandoned temple in the wailing frosty winds. A spiral of Qi rose forth in torrents and ribbons, reaching forward, an unending wellspring. And he could feel it- far, to the south._

Salu's eyes opened, blinking themselves clear. He shook his head wearily, letting the Qi fade- he made an absent-minded note that it was falling far easier under his control, at least compared to past times- and stood, prompting Shifu to rise. "Well?"

"I shall explain when we are rested, and when we get back. I'd like those basic scrolls of Kung Fu- and start packing for mountain climbing with the Five, or at least with most of them."

He looked at his hand as he turned back towards the thousand steps, examining the soft palm and fingertips. Looking up, he felt that fire that Shifu had said he had- burning somewhere in his breast.

Time to get a move on and beat Fate at it's own game.


	5. Chapter 5

Again- doing what I can to pump it out for you guys. Also- I noticed that I haven't exactly been giving the four others of the five as much attention as I've had focused on Po, Ti and Shifu- I'll be working on that bit by bit, but for now I certainly have an idea of what to do.

\--

The morning rays drafted through the paper walls, a gong rousing Salu'ir from sleep. A faint chorus of 'Good Morning Master' came from outside, and he swung his feer over the bed in turn- grabbing the linen pants and his slightly-faded red hoodie, making sure to throw on the sandals as he bumbled out the door. "-gah, still...still need to work on th- Good Morning, Master."

It had been a few days since the initial revelation of where they needed to go next, and Salu'ir had seen fit to at least master a grasp of -some- basics while he remained at the Jade Palace, for the sake of at least being able to fend attackers off before the five, Po or Shifu could come to his aid. But otherwise, the human found himself learning little beyond extending the control of his Qi to certain limbs, or mastering the fundamental basics all fighters learned before developing their own style.

He was adapting well, in his opinion, having never done an honest day's work in his life- he could be improving on this or that, or could be focusing on remembering this specific detail or not- otherwise, though, his assimilation into the order of the Jade Palace (much to the disapprovement of Tigress) was going smoothly.

Though, when all was said and done and his work was done for the day, when he lay in his bed exhausted and tenderly bruised- he felt that nagging loneliness, that feeling that he had no one to fall back on- hell, he realized that this in itself was a cliche, but you can only do so much for a lonely heart, hmn?

He approached the dining table, glancing around- Po kept to the dishes, cooking away at some food of a sort while the others waited patiently, chatting amongst one another (the exception being Tigress, who glanced around occasionally while eating from a plate of small white cubes which he later identified as 'Tofu', whatever that was). It was a bit like watching the chemistry of a family, he realized- a collection of siblings after a life together.

He sat at the table, fiddling with the hood straps idly as he waited for a meal. Soy was heavy in the air, mixed with spices of origins he couldn't quite place. In any case, it was certainly an atmosphere he could get used to waking up to.

A nudge from his left caught his attention, and he turned to look at Monkey- the two stared one another down for a moment before the poker spoke-

"You have thumbs."

"Yeah? So? Lots of others have thumbs."

"Not real, thumb-thumbs. Like, actual...finger-thumb things, you know?"

"...I guess?"

Monkey laughed. "I've been watchin' you. Thinkin'. Humans, they look kinda similar to monkeys, eh? You just, are...taller, more two-footed, and some otha' things." "Right, well- I think we had a common ancestor somewhere, damn, when I actually want to get into the religion vs. science debate I'm out of a line..."

He giggled. "We'll talk later, meet me outside tha' trainin' hall." He turned to face Po, who had bowls of noodles galore.

Salu's mind was curious, now. More curious than before.

\--

He approached the tan figure sitting beside the doors to the training hall, flexing his fingers and stretching his neck. "So, you wanted to talk to me?"

The simian looked up, grinning as he planted his staff in the ground and curled around the tip, perching on it like a spire. "So forward! Ya' never pause for a good joke, or to ask how tha' weather is, hmn?" "Well, uh- I don't really notice the little things or nuances unless I'm incredibly bored."

"Well, that's no fun! Looking around is what helps you figure out what you're doing somewhere!"

"... we're at the training hall, to...train?" "Very good." The monkey clapped, grinning toothily. "Not the sort that needs you to practice form, no, call this an experiment. 'cause I've been thinkin'..."

"You're another type of monkey, I think, that or a really slim gorilla." He paused to chuckle at the thought. "...oh, and without- heheheh- without fur." He bounded forward, perching on his staff in the courtyard below while inviting the human to step down.

"Now, take a staff." He turned momentarily to take one from the rack, turning back to face him. "I've only got the basic hand-to-hand stuff down, nothing with weapons-"

"It's easy! Look, uh- you ever swung a sword?" "Yeah." "You ever have someone try to hit you with a rolling pin for stealing their food?" "Wh-"

"It's like a giant rolling pin that you can poke, bop, block or swing like a sword with- bruises 'em pretty bad, too." Monket nodded. "Good weapon, adaptable- you can use every part of it in a fight. But that means you need to be thinkin' for it."

Without warning, he struck at the human's hands, causing him to pull his hands back from the staff with a hiss. "Gah- ow-!"

"Too slow! Come again now, come on!" He laughed. "We're training, after all!"

Brow furrowing, he focused, grip tightening on his staff. He stepped forward, letting his hands slide down the shaft and grip it like a bat as he took a swing at Monkey's head. Staff met staff with a wooden 'clakt', and the simian grinned, turning to deliver a swing of his own.

His hands spread out across the staff again, catching his in the middle- and in a moment of pure adrenaline-crazed reflexes, he jabbed it forward into the monkey's chest, directly into his solar plexus. He staggered back, grinning- something was tied around his leg-

He was pulled into a squat by his training partner, struggling to maintain balance. He planted his staff forward, shifting his weight to it briefly as he wrenched his foot free from the snaking tail. He laughed, Salu'ir sweating beads as he watched him. "So serious! Have fun, it's only sparring!"

"You've been doing this longer, I have to actually put my back into this-!" They traded jabs and swings with one another's staff before an idea caught Salu's focus. He pushed off and held his ground, forcing distance between monkey and man. All he needed was a brief moment, a moment to-

 _A rejuvenating chill ran up his spine as he closed his eyes. He willed it to travel down to his arms..._

He opened his eyes in time to block another blow, the surging of Qi through his veins pressing him beyond his mounting exhaustion- he needed this to end quick. He brought his staff overhead and let his energy surge forward- he swung forward muscled, twitching cannons of arms, all down with this one staff- Monkey raised his own to block-

The ape's shattered in a hollow noise of thunder and fury. Roaring, he continued, slamming it straight down on Monkey's head-

A hand shot up and caught it, forced it aside. His arms seemed to deflate as he felt the burning passion of Qi's power leave him, and was met with a hand that reached up, and-

Flicked his forehead.

Monkey stepped back, grinning. "Good, good, you got angry, I got to see what your full power was." "Full...full pow- wha-" "Keep training, I want to fight you when you're ready, 'Master Human'." "Just... Salu'ir, that's... that's all, no master or anything."

"Sure. I'm hungry, so..." He turned to leave, waving. "Bye! Take care! Eat well and fight strong?"

"...strange." He turned back to the training hall in thought momentarily, at the noises that came from within- before turning away, shaking his head.

\--

He fell to the ground, gasping for breath, the heavy clanking of plate armor and the smell of dust and age permeating his form. Lungs gulped in air greedily, like they had not in years- and the reality was not far from that, but rather further beyond, in reality.

He reached a gauntletted hand forward, letting it dig into the soil- feeling the grains and stones flow between his fingers, inspecting the small coat it left behind on the violet steel. He turned it around and rubbed his fingers together- consistent, fine soil.

Wonderful, wonderful, WONDERFUL!

He laughed, falling to his knees at the side of the great mountain- the ancient seals and wards that kept him trapped now too faded and worn by the elements to bind him within the rocky tomb. He was free, free from a cursed cell that kept him fed and kept him young- that saturated him with magic that he could not use. So many years in such a prison had given him so much power, and now he could give it a chance to roam free.

But this power alone would not be enough for his vision- for the perfect world, no, he needed more.

He glanced over to the side of the path, looking at the blooming grasses and flowers here and there. He lifted a hand and let the cool feeling travel down his arm...

 _Aaaaahhhh..._

To mortal eyes, the foliage began to die immediately- but to one trained in Qi and spellcasting, they would see that he took not only the life of the poor plants, but the essence, as well- inducting it into his very being. It was small, but he would need more to feed, soon- such a process was addicting, the taking of power, to claim it as your own-

All was necessary, if he was to build his world.


	6. Chapter 6

The cool night blew a soft, cool wind over the bamboo forest, relaxing in it's tranquil way. Feral animals darted to and fro in the foliage, birds chirping their night songs and the great trees creaking and groaning with every blow of the wind. In the glade where all of this madness had started, Salu'ir sat, meditating to the physical eye- but to the trained one, of Qi and Magic? He sat, wrapped in the entrancing fabric of the great rift he had torn asunder upon his arrival, feeling the ebb and flow of the mystical energy.

The power itself was... mysterious, to put it simply. Taking a strand of the magical threads was simple, but it was like trying to hold water- it was always ebbing and flowing through your grip, changing shape and unless you had it right, it would only escape all to easily. But such, he found, was a pleasant sensation, to take a part of this ebbing flow and inspect it before allowing the energy to fade away.

A rustle of grass caught his attention and he opened his eyes all but briefly, taking in the small glade- at the center, a collection of leaves swirled and danced in the night wind. Dismissing it as the foliage, he continued, examining the fabric of the energy before him.

But another rustle further provoked his attention, and soon he found a presence sitting beside him in the open area. He opened his eyes to find it was none other than the serpent- 'Viper' if he recalled correctly, - that helped make up the ranks of the Furious Five. She peered up at him through glowing blue eyes, head tilted curiously.

"Hello. You're a ways from the Jade palace." "So are you." Her tongue darted forward briefly, body traveling upwards before coiling into a pile. She took in the glade around them, Salu's focus remaining locked on the serpent.

"...what brings you out here?" "I could ask the same of you. At first glance, you're meditating, but the way those leaves are moving and darting around says otherwise to me." She shook her head, glassy scales illuminated in the pale moonlight. "Well?"

"It's more like I'm..." He paused to think. "...how to put it...- oh, yeah. I'm...just kind of reading over the rift. Feeling the energy. It's... relaxing, feels like home once and a while- from what's left of whatever rift brought me here." His hands fell to his sides, brushing through the grassy blades and across the soil beneath them. "Call it my way of relaxing, getting a bit of home in a strange new world. Or land." He scratched his head. "Haven't figured that part out yet."

Viper giggled. "Sure." She looked back at the center of the glade, closing her eyes- he felt a slight pull of Qi between the two, and he watched as her eyes opened again. "... it's wild and chaotic. Not much ordered in there that can be salvaged properly, so...hey. Don't try too hard to stab another hole in reality, we've got enough as it is, I'd say." She smiled up at him jokingly for a moment- and it worked, eliciting a small chuckle from him. But once more, his gaze fell back to look towards the center of the glade.

"You miss your home, don't you?" "How simple it was, yeah. Where everything I needed was on a few screens, and...well. Where I'm normal, not some...'thing' no one's seen before or in a hundred years." The snake shook her head sympathetically, sighing softly. "Hey, I can understand. Heck, most of the people up in the Palace can- you don't see many others of us wandering around the valley of peace, do you?" The serpent smiled dryly. "It's hard. But we have each other."

"I've noticed, and I've also noticed that you appear to be the sort of 'big sister' to the Five." He turned to regard her thoughtfully, head tilted. "Is it hard, keeping them together?" "It's...an experience, but they're as much my family as I'm theirs. I'd trade a lot to keep them together and safe." She nodded to herself idly.

"I get that." The two sat in the glade, letting the peace of the area flow over them both. A frigid night wind assaulted them both, however, and the human pulled his cloak tighter while the serpent shivered. He glanced over briefly before extending a hand to her from under his cloak. "Climb on and keep warm, it's about time that we both head back to the Palace- sleep won't fall into our arms out here."

She looked over his hand for a moment before smiling up at him, slithering up his arm and around his torso elegantly before peeking out from his collar. He shivered at the feeling of her writhing muscles, resisting the brief urge to gag before wrapping the cape tight and standing.

\--

His fist struck true against the arm of the dummy, prompting it's other arm to swing around. He lifted his in a block and ground his teeth as the iron-spiked shaft of wood slammed into his arm, growling. Another strike to the solar plexus of the machine knocked it back, prompting the lower leg to sweep to the left, slamming against his shin unexpectedly. He stepped back with a gasp, looking down at his pant leg- the iron barbs had bit through cloth and poked through flesh with the speed and ferocity they had been spun at, giving him a minor wound. It stung like hell, but it certainly wasn't too important.

Surveying his bruised knuckles, arms and such, he decided enough was enough for today- bruises and cuts healed, but they needed time and care to properly do so. The training dummies were certainly building endurance, meant to train reflexes and harden one's limbs when fighting, but there were limits- especially to his delicate skin, which had no fur or scales to protect him.

He stepped out of the training hall, limping bit by bit and looking around with a lost expression. Eventually, he consigned to head off to the storage room, where he retrieved a roll of bandages, a salve, and a canteen of water, to where he retreated to the sleeping quarters.

He was washing out his leg when a tapping on his door found him. He looked over, muttering a 'come in'- watching as Mantis entered with a small kit on his side. Salu'ir raised an eyebrow- "Can I help you, Master Mantis?"

"Just Mantis, and, uh. I'm good." He turned to the door. "Left a few drops, enough to make a trail. Training dummies are getting to you?" "Yeah." "Others had that problem when they first started, eventually they got over it. But, uh. You don't have that time, do you?"

"Nope." "Well, here. I don't know much, but I do know this-" He lifted his pincers and closed his eyes, a soft Golden glow flowing through his body. He directed it towards the human's leg, and he felt a familiar rush of cold energy, watching as his leg reformed itself before his eyes. Flexing his calf, he nodded to the small insect who exhaled heavily.

He leapt up the side of the bed, opening the case to reveal a multitude of needles. He eyed them nervously for a moment. "Ever heard of Acupuncture?" "Yeah, uh. Not too big on needles, sorry, if that's-" "No, it's fine, it's just- it can be relaxing, and I hear it helps Qi flow a bit better. Just thought you might want it for tha-"

He was already shirtless, facedown on his bed. "Anything that can further my chances at staying alive, I'll take."

Mantis shook his head, snickering. "A bit obsessed with power, aren't you?" "I want to get home, and that evidently means I need to learn how to fight and throw magic everywhere, so..." He shrugged- or started to, until a needle's bite stopped him. He gritted his teeth and kept from barking out at the pinch.

"You heard what happened with Tai Lung, and Kai?" "Yeah, Po summarized it briefly. Powermongers that turned on the world for their own gain." "Essentially. Goes to show, power is a corrupting thing- you don't go controlling yourself, you just start hurting people until you turn into the bad guy." His reply was cut short by another needle.

"... just...keep in mind, this is a home to others too. And don't go too fast. Otherwise, you might just miss out on a whole lot more than a prophecy somewhere."

He reflected on the words as the insect did his work, frowning. He knew that the preparations for the journey to the peak were almost complete, and as hard as he had been pressing himself, he realized he would be useless by the time it came to go. He...needed to rest.

"Ow!" "Sorry."


	7. Chapter 7

AN - Okay, so. Hiatus. SORRY! Just been preoccupied. Will be working on a few projects again, if anything. Don't worry!

* * *

The sword was a dead weight in his hands. It dragged across stone and gravel, carved through soil and grass with relative ease- but the blade didn't _sing_ , when he swung it through the air. Not like it used to, anyways. Not like before.

It was a beautiful sword, carved with spiraling textures. It was grace incarnate, and had been immensely powerful at one point- but now was just an old slab of metal decayed by rust, waiting for use that would not come to it. At least, not currently- not while he still had work to do.

Balthanax was humanoid, to put it simply. Clad in bright violet armor with socketed yellow gems on the edges of the circular shoulderpads that seemed to radiate a repelling aura, one of fear and sheer revolt. And he had been walking for he didn't know how long, but enough to witness the stars kiss the black blanket that was the sky once more. And, for a moment, he felt a pang of regret- regret for needing to devour such essence to continue living. But it was necessary, for he had a plan. It was a plan that required, sure, a rush at first- but he could sail easily once the first foundations were laid to act on.

A light peaked in the distance, a trail of smoke wafting up into the night sky to disrupt the star's patterns. Balthanax tilted his head in thought before grinning- a horrific sight, his needle-teeth rows flickering in and out.

He made his way over- making no attempt to conceal himself. Clanking armor was not suited for stealth. What looked like two wolves and a large ox-like humanoid greeted him with defensive stares, their conversation halting to note the stranger.

"You lost?" They turned to face him, his face still concealed in the darkness beyond the flame's reach. He could feel the abundant energy surging through the world, smaller and condensed pockets in the three organisms. A serpentine tongue flicked forward to run along the top of his teeth.

They waited for a response that didn't come, a silence gripping them in a death-like hold. Balthanax finally responded- lifting a hand and giving a lazy 'come hither' motion with clawed gauntlets.

The wolf on the left snorted derisively before lunging forward. "Fine, keep quiet- more coin purses for us!" He remained low to the ground on all fours before erupting into his lower two feet, taking forth two swirling dagg-

The broken swords gleamed in the firelight, a clashing noise ringing throughout the forest and startling a few birds. Balthanax held out the sword edges and dropped them to the ground, a release of steam emitting from magical runes in his armor. The wolf, stunned for a moment, was too distracted to notice the nightmarish knight step into the firelight and grip him by the collar of his fur.

The wolf spasmed, the other two watching in disbelief. His form contorted as his fur seemed to grow grey with age, flesh sinking in before leaving him with little more than a skeleton inside of a pale fursuit. A faint outline of a deep red color was coating his arm up to his elbow, writhing and pulsating before fading along with the wolf's spasms. He dropped the dead husk to the floor, giving a sharp inhale through his teeth before taking his sword from his back and waving it over the body.

Further yet, the only thing that could be ripped from the corpse was the spirit. A blue, phantasmal ball of light erupted from above his chest- before being drained into the tip of the blade, a ghastly wail ripping through the air. And with that, the sword flickered to life- a weak, violet glow from the groves between the runes, the engravings.

He charged at the second wolf without relent, the sword swinging through the air- no. _It was singing again._ The wolf dodged and wore down, before resorting to block with Iron swords of it's own that shattered into fragments under his unrelenting assault. The blade carved it's away across the wolf's chest, tearing life and spirit from mortal shell and coil.

The Ox rammed into his backside before pinning him in the air, enraged by the loss of two likely close co-workers. The great beastfolk let out a guttural roar before hurling the armor-clad fighter at the ground-

He broke free, a spinning top-like manuever angled like a wheel dismembering arm from socket. He stumbled back with another yell, falling on his back to hold the stump. Balthanax landed with a crunch of leaves, examining the crimson stains running down the blade- runes gleaming with a hungry light. His hand extended to the right, black chains coiling through his fingers and around his wrist. A flex of his middle finger-

They shot out like spiraling tendrils, snaking towards the ox before curling around his thick neck. With an unnatural strength, he hauled, sending the giant creature flying through the air to impale on the waiting sword.

The last thing he saw was the grinning needle-maw of the dark warrior, a vaccuum seeming to tear away at his entrails- leaving everything intact, but feeling so cold and empty.

'Sleep...'

* * *

 _Quiet. It's peaceful here._

 _Quiet._

 _Peace._

The man sat at in the center of the glade, Shifu off to the side. Salu'ir was meditating, taking in the natural wellspring of energy and basking in it- Shifu merely there to study.

Of course, Shifu- as we all know- is a very studious sort of...man. He likes to figure out what the deal is with everything before making his next move, and this 'Human' - he had a vague idea of what exactly he was. A vague picture that was becoming more and more clear by the second- reading people was a specialty.

His ears twitched, the old man looking up at the sky in thought. A soft inhale blessed his lips before he closed his eyes, briefly beholding the great wellspring of Qi before continuing to watching the man.

Salu'ir, on the other hand, was not having the easiest time. One's mind wanders without any proper entertainment, as I'm sure we all know- thus, being forced to focus on something for little more than two hours was beginning to wear the human a bit thin. But he clung to focus as desperately as he could, breathing in and out, moving like a circuit for the wellspring of power.

It was at a particularly deep breath that he felt gravity give out- for just a moment. Not enough to levitate, but he suddenly felt the burdens of being weighed to the ground dissipate in a rather spectacular (and frankly, exhilarating) fashion. As much as he was eager to report this to Shifu- unsure if he had noticed- he had wanted to feel it once more above and beyond that. Thus, he continued his focus- set on the idea that he -was- making progress.

What felt like moments were hours, and what felt like hours were moments. Time was wrong, and yet right- it was strange in how it behaved. Shifu would, at seemingly random intervals, declare that meditation was over- and the sun would always be orange in the sky.

But one day, the morning bell rang. He nearly matched the clatter of noise to awaken and appear at his door, missing by a few seconds- he was getting better, but still didn't quite possess 'LIGHTNIN'' speed, as Po called it. Shifu regarded him for a moment before speaking-

"We're ready. The supplies have been packed and the bags have been stored. We make the trip to the mountain at midday."

Salu blinked to himself, stretching his hands behind his back in thought before nodding to the small man. "Right," he replied with the others, before turning into his room- packing away what little he had. His hoodie had long been replaced by a sort of uniform, embossed with red and black weavings- not dissimilar to Tigress's, though tailored to better suit his form. The key difference was the buckle and sash around his waist- a green one, to signify his martial ranking he had achieved through his stay- roughly 4 weeks at this point.

And so they met- beginning the journey down the path together. Passing through the village, Salu'ir saw Po approach a Goose and another Panda- pausing to watch out of curiousity while the others continued. Po mumbled something to them, they shared a laugh before hugging each other close with an earnest grin- turning to leave. Po locked eyes on the human before scratching the back of his head. "Oh, h- uh. Remember the...two dads, thing?"

"Oh, right." Salu lifted his arms to rest his hands behind his head, stretching idly. "We're falling behind. Might want to hurry." The panda shook his head before nodding, leaving him there- to where the two dads approached his form. He looked between them, blinking- "Hello?"

The goose spoke. "You must be the hairless creature he's told me so much about. Hu-man." The wing took a poke at his stomach, the human blinking. "Ow-" "So, are you ever going to eat down here at my shop?" "What, you want the publicity?" The goose nodded with a smile on his beak, the Panda watching off to the side- "Seriously, you should try the noodle soup. Everyone down here loves it." "Never had it, I'll try it eventually, though." Salu glanced expectantly at the path down to the right. The goose shook his head before waving- "Bah, go catch up. Just remember! Noodle Soup!"

* * *

Night had come. They had made their camp out in the forest- and most of everyone else was sleeping in designated mats. Not him- he had secluded himself, practicing the basic stance- rapidly striking a tree for practice. Rest wasn't one of his concerns, no, not while he was working to get home. Thus, he had to buff up- put himself through what he had to for standing a chance against whatever lay ahead.

The flow of Chi was ever-present as he continued his strikes- he hadn't had room to work it into his strikes, and plus, it was a tree, so... not much was to be gained by more splinters than he already had. But Chi- it was ever present, numbing where his knuckles scarred with a soothing golden pulse, softly outlining his arms and legs with every strike.

He paused before standing tall, giving a deep breath. His gaze turned to the camp briefly, eyes narrowing as he checked the individuals for any sign of wakening- the most he saw being the twitching of the tiger's and the red panda's ears. Likely trying to sleep past his attempts.

The idea of being watched didn't feel right. He continued down the path- avoiding twigs and grasses, breathing turning shallow. He didn't want them to know he was gone more than they already did, if at all possible.

And eventually, he found another tree- 'Ironwood', he believed they were called. He began to return to his strikes, each attack snipping away at the bark and flesh before he paused, huffing- blood trailing from his knuckles. Did they give off a scent? He didn't know. Breathing deep, he allowed another infusion of chi to revitalize him- before an idea sprung to his mind.

He stood tall, hands folding together and tracing different figures before forming fists at his side. More chi rushed into his form and before his eyes- his form bulked lightly, still lithe but lined with muscle. The surging flow of Chi was being imbued into his very being, here- infusing beyond his spirit and into his body. Everything felt lighter, everything felt far more-

"What are you doing?" He turned around to face Viper, lightly curled around herself as she approached him. _Not only did he not see her, but Snakes don't twitch, either._

"Practicing." "You should be sleeping, you know." "It's hard to."  
She slithered up beside him, pausing until he waved her up- slithering up his form to tie around his torso like a sash. The current of Chi faded from his form, weariness overtaking him briefly before the human regained himself.

After that, they began to trudge back to the camp. "Nervous, aren't you?" "Yep." "Dark Visions keep you up?" "Not always." The snake shook her head, briefly shivering as her form absorbed his heat. "Train, sure. But don't forget to rest. We need what we can keep up as far as Morale here." "We're not on a pleasure trip- we have a set goal. To find this temple in these mountains somewhere, I'unno."

They finally reached the camp. Viper leaned up, whispering in his ear- "Just try to sleep, at least." He eyed the dead fire- twitching beast-men, swaying trees. A deep sigh stretched forward from his chest before laying down- Viper slithering off and away.


	8. Chapter 8

AN- Finally got to do something with Crane here, though his personal fans might not agree all that much. If dark stuff hurts you, I would skip over the last dividing line and read the TL;DR for those who skipped it. Anyways, here we go!

* * *

Balthanax hefted his greatblade, the teeming sword invigorating his own corrupted form with every touch. Every step held more spring, every leap forward held more enthusiasm- there was always fury waiting around the corner to be dispensed on some unwitting mortal, some bandit or the other. Thus, he had grown accustomed to this world- he was enjoying his time.

But what he found most peculiar was the Spiritual evolution. Since what he had termed 'The Banishment', the souls of some animals had evolved to have humanoid properties- as in, bestial animals still existed, of course, such as the wild birds and deer that hung around, but the animals who had evolved with such human-like souls had taken on the similar properties- likely growing to live in the remnants of the world about them. Not that he was complaining- a good soul was valuable here, if it meant getting the proper mana from it.

He was almost ready.

He had returned to this glade a number of times he couldn't quite remember other than that he had sensed the rift here, as well- raw and festering with a bubbling font of raw energy, of Chi and Mana, of Dark and Light, Life and Death. This was more than a font- it led somewhere only a skilled magician could sense and open the way to enter- or take something out. And his intention was, in the end, the latter- he had business.

Once upon a time, he had made siege on this world. But the humans had foiled him- and now, there were no other men to get in his way, except for one. What would the animals do? Not many of them seemed to possess the aptitude for magic like humanity- thus, it would be an easy conquest.

Of course, militia and nations would still rise. It was his duty to cut them down and to feed Orjinvaal further- this single blade was going to be the key.

He hefted the blade into the air for a moment, spinning it- feeling the exhiliration of it's motion.

 _It was singing._

His blade bit into a tree, passing bark and entering deep into wood. The area around the blade's impact began to drain of any and all life, the purple runes along the sword gleaming hungrily as it consumed more and more. The withering plant shrank and shrank, once tall and proud- now shriveled and weak. He continued to feed regardless, killing the tree, further and further, dead leaves falling to the ground- for him, it was pure bliss.

The roots shrank and left gaps in the soil as the tree began to further decompose into a dead ash, flowing off into the night breeze. The grass around the tree began to drain as well when the sword hit the ground- but he picked the blade up and sheathed it once more on it's back, breathing out as if he had just completed an intense session of massage therapy. He curled and flexed his fingers, forming fists before grunting.

Now to find an open glade.

* * *

The group had been traveling little more than two days, and yet the lands had changed rapidly before his eyes and under his feet. The human folded his hands behind his back, exhaling deeply- the current path led through a particularly beautiful forest filled with the colors of fall. Occasionally the odd traveler would approach, wave, and continue- the bandit here and there, who thought them easy prey before recognizing the distinct races making up the party and deciding otherwise.

The nights were a tad easier. Pitching a fire, collecting twigs and wood, setting up the sleeping cots before fixing the rations into something neutral everyone didn't mind eating. After that, some would sleep, others went off to do their own training- whatever the case, it always resulted in everyone asleep while Shifu awoke early and made preparations before waking the students.

 _No,_ a faint note in the back of his head struck. _Of his students and their guest._

It was near to the afternoon where they found themselves at the beginning of the path up the mountain. Shifu looked between the torn path and them, gaze fixing on Salu'ir. "This -is- the place you saw, yes? The mountain?"

"Yep. My vision flew up, headed south, and passed up the mountain here." He looked up, scratching his head for a moment- noting the snowcaps on the tall peak. He looked at his garments, pondering if he was really prepared for this, but shook away his doubt and nodded back at Shifu.

"Let's go."

And so the trek up the mountain began. The group ascended the primary path rather easily, but soon it became lost to gravel and dirt- it had been cleared away from the rest of the foliage around the path, but it was becoming harder and harder to track.

The first wall to climb, they hit rather early on- nothing too tall, but enough to make someone take a look at their fighting style before bouncing up there to make sure they had the right flexibility to do so without help. Darkness was cresting the rest of the forest, but as they climbed higher, the more the sun's rays touched them.

Eventually, they were forced to find a place to camp- picking a place off to the side. Not quite into the snow-capped areas, it was still something decently peaceful and fitting of a rest. After dinner had been had, the students continued to chatter amongst themselves- Salu'ir secluding himself, assuming a meditative pose, and beginning to channel his Qi.

* * *

Shifu pulled Crane aside after a moment, the aviary creature nonetheless curious but holding a touch of concern. The last time he had struck out as an individual, it hadn't gone well- Being 'Jaded' by Kai had left it's marks. But nonetheless, he felt the call of duty as he followed the old man out.

Shifu turned around after a moment, staff clacking on the dirt ground. "I need you to do some reconnaisance."

"I...ah- yes, master."

Shifu nodded. "Do not engage if you find anyone- but first, fly to the peak of this mountain and find exactly what the Human wants us to find- before heading West." His eyes shifted uneasily. "A small amount of Chi has been flaring up and making it's way east. I'd like to get an idea of what it is."

The bird nodded before flapping his wings and taking off.

The night was beautiful for flying, in his opinion- he had never been the strongest when it came to flying, nor the most daring for any spectacular feats, but he had always enjoyed simply soaring above the clouds and being left to his own devices. Thus, he was grateful for an excuse to head out.

The human was interesting, of course, but the bird was far too introverted to ever properly get into a conversation that didn't address the group in general. But enough of that-

Nearing the peak, he flapped a few times before soaring around the peak- before what met his eyes nearly startled him out of the air.

 _Another Monastery?!_

It was similar to the Jade Palace in design, but it was integrated into the side of the mountain- ruined creatures or old buildings lay strewn about, buried under snow and ice where the overhang of the temple's roof didn't catch. There wasn't any life- but still. The odds of such, here and now?

The note that it was abandoned suddenly piqued his curiousity- what if there was some sort of lost knowledge? Or if there were people inside that were hiding away? Surely this could serve as some sort of Bandit hideout, right?

Best to be thorough. He fell gracefully, landed with a buffet of wind- shaking off the night chill and faintly falling snow, he shook a thin leg and continued on inside, head lowering to be nearer to his chest. His hat wasn't doing him much favor, so he shed it- carrying it under a wing as he strode up to the great closed doors above.

"Hello," he called, "anyone there?" A leg reached up to knock on the door.

It shifted open a little, revealing the darkness inside. Crane squinted for a moment- there wasn't a stench of smoke or cinder- some figures lay here and there, beastioid or not he couldn't tell- so he turned away and closed the door to keep the snow further out.

Seemed empty for now.

Shaking his head, he exhaled heavily before lifting off the ground once more with a buffet of his wings, his hat slipping back on.  
Little did he notice the small stone that had been caught in his hat's folds, engraved with a small, glittering rune.

* * *

Balthanax continued marching, gazing up at the night sky. The occasional bandit had been jumping him for a while now, and thus had kept Orjinvaal fed- and Orjinvaal kept him alive. Thus, the 'Last Human' was content.

There were still feral animals, sure. But most were humanoid- evolved. And that aroused his curiosity beyond any logical reason. The fact that they were developing souls similar to humanoids, that provided energy- why, it was almost a blessing.

He paused for a moment, listening. A disturbance of life energy in the distance caught his attention.

 _...ap, flap, flap..._

He whirled suddenly, a chain of black and violet energies weaving into reality from his palm, tipped with a barbed hook, shot out and into the air. The blade punched through an avian wing before rooting- the rest of the conjured chain conjuring around his wrist. He yanked with a heavy hand, laughing as he felt the tension on the other end of the chain give way to his might- extending a hand in preparation.

A gangly sort of bird met his grip- with a white body, and a blue head, with reed-thing legs ending in the usual bird talons. It wore some variant of a chinese hat- and looked at him with _those_ eyes. The eyes that had sentience, that knew right from wrong, that could hold off until dinner when mother called instead of hunting and devouring what they could.

 _The eyes that had a soul._

He tightened his grip on the neck, needle teeth shivering in and out as the conjured chain faded from reality- leaving a bleeding hole in the Crane's wing. It struggled, gasping for breath, clearly taken aback by the suddenness of this all- before suddenly-

 _Qi?!_

His body became lined with it as his form tensed and delivered a helicopter kick, knocking the warlord off and back a few feet, landing in a kneeling stance. He paused before standing, cracking his neck and grinning deviously at the bird. "So, this bird nibbles back."

It flapped it's wings before wincing, noting the injured limb. "Gahk!" He looked back over at the human, eyes tracing over every detail- _good._ The crimson eyes leered out from the chattering maw of razors, waiting hungrily for a chance to rend and tear. He approached the bird, walking over and delivering a harsh stomp to a leg.

A sound like shattering bone rang through the air. The bird cried out in pain, kicking out and trying in vain to crawl away. "Wh...what...?" Balthanax lumbered over for a moment before perching on the bird's body, hovering for a moment.

"This is going to be fun."

What followed was a slur of memories for the both of them- all with Balthanax cackling madly, slamming his fists into the bird's head repeatedly. He laughed chaotically, before a particularly powerful slug threw the bird's hat off. And out spilled the stone- which caught Balthanax's attention.

He reached over, picking it up and inspecting it- no bigger than a computer mouse, but radiating with magic- no, an enchantment, a spell tied to it from another place. There was nothing that he could drain from here. His eyes looked back at the bird for a moment before grinning.

"...here. Spread a warning, won't you?" He took the stone and the hat, tracing the rune and watching it begin to glow brighter and brighter as it began to activate- placing that hat over it as he set them both on the bird's chest. "Tell your friends, your home, your village and the like that death is coming."

The bird lifted it's head weakly to regard the human. "...l- like... hell, Monster..."

"...monster? **I AM A DEVIL!"**

The last thing Crane heard before the portstone warped him off was the maniac cackling of Balthanax.

* * *

TL;DR for those too sensitive- Balthanax caught Crane spying and beat him to a bloody pulp before sending him back (somewhere!) using the stone which acts as a teleporation beacon, if you will.


	9. Chapter 9

AN- This chapter was a tad longer, sorry about that! Did my work for what I could here! Merry Christmas to you all, from this insignificant fanfiction-writer!

* * *

The dark warrior closed his eyes and inhaled deeply for a moment, contemplating his current position. The grass was still settling from the bird's dissapearance, and the presence of the avian had unsettled him more than he cared to realize- because looking back, he realized one important part. That Bird had Q _i_. Magic. And the likely reason he hadn't seen nor noticed it in the midst of such a battle was that he caught the avian off-guard and did enough damage to render him, for the mostpart, vulnerable.

They had QI. Magic. Power.

And those with power resist change, looking to preserve their lives as they are unless such change could somehow fuel their own purposes and services.

Balthanax paused for a moment in bitter thought before snorting- momentarily regarding his greatblade, Orjinvaal. The sword hummed eagerly, full of raw energy, but-

He gripped the handle tightly, feeling the essence swarm his mind and soul.

 _It would be enough._

Without hesitation, he suddenly was holding it to the air, black shadows dancing across it's form. He gave it a twirl, allowing it to swing around his wrist before catching it deftly, meeting it with his other, angling it down- and stabbing into the ground.

Shockwaves spread across the earth, rumbling and guttural, violent and chaotic. From the cracks poured a dark fire, rising without any sort of pattern or without refraining from any sort of order of their own. A storm cloud formed above as runes carved themselves into the ground, dark energy surging out from Orjinvaal and leaving it's dark mark on the land around the blade and it's wielder- a source of magical power and the one meant to wield it.

Before the wielder and blade, by about 5 feet, a larger circle began to carve itself into existence- runed with similar markings that surrounded the black knight as he did his dark work. Lifting one hand from his blade, he spoke, drawing upon his tongue in the ancient language to further his work.

 ** _"Gala'kshiev nor akul, Iq anir dur'ashiv. Bal'akur, Bal'akur, nor-akor zil akt! Anaktor, Alluari!"_**

At his command, the middle circle suddenly began to float, forging light patterns and swirling with an unseen malice. In the center of the ring, a rift tore itself open, a shifting rift of dark magic that tore itself into reality without any slight of hesitation, steadily growing, further and further.

Just a tad more-

A hand gripped the edge of the rift and pushed it open further. And out the body stepped...

She was tall. Humanoid, definitely- with skin the color of a dark amethyst. Her form was muscled, hardened, though not entirely chiseled- still leaving room to display her more 'advantageous' points that came with being female. Dark plate lined her torso, accentuating her cleavage, wearing little more beyond a thong made of the similar plate below. A dastardly tail whipped out from right below her spine's finish, flicking about patiently.

Four arms, not two, extended from her sides, each ending with hands that had nails tipped in bright violet light or liquid. Her legs below began to disect into hooves, not unlike a goat's, but what was most unsettling in her appearance was her face and head.

She was beautiful, hauntingly so- eyes pits of flaming azure with a downcast face. Horns flared out from her forehead, demonic wings flaring out from behind her as whips materialized in her shadow-touched grips. She looked down at the dark knight for a moment, before around at the forest, as if confused- and he stood, waving his blade around before pointing it at her. **_"ANDRATHI!"_**

She felt the subconcious pull, the desire for submission. Without hesitation, she knelt in fealty to her new master, who inspected the spellcasting hand, flexing his fingers. The blade in his hand was suddenly much heavier- _much thirstier._ The summoned creature looked at him with blazing violet eyes, head cocked to the side as she inspected him- a cold, calculating smile crossing her features.

"How might I serve you once again, Balthanax?"

* * *

Crane struggled, the snowpeak quiet except for his grunting and voicing. With a leg and wing both rendered incapable, he had made it down the steps, across the courtyard spanning the main walkway, and had neared the path leading down the mountain. He was moving at a horrible, slow and torturous pace, even to someone forced to look at the world through such a lens- he was grounded, and beyond that, forced to crawl- but his training had taught him to withstand it.

His thought briefly fixed on those glimmering crimson eyes, those flashing teeth that looked like they were comprised on row upon row of needles- reaching from his upper jaw to his collarbone. But what unsettled him most-

 _He looked human. Like the new one._

Crane hadn't done much with the new figure during his arrival, but now he was absolutely sure there was something greater going on here- involving the new friend they had picked up for no apparent reason whatsoever except for his apparent aptitude for controlling Qi- and the chance for others to study off of him. He had the innate desire to learn, sure, but he was an apprentice, he couldn't do much.

Qi. The idea of the flow of energy, the ebbing of life and death, that it could be manipulated into such forms as what had happened- forging chains into reality from oblivion, creating flames and earthquakes with one's very step- he had been caught off guard and had paid the price dearly for it. And by some measure of luck, some stone he had was enchanted- glowing with magical power, it had saved him from what could have been a fate most ugly- but now, he had to focus.

He had information. The temple here, it had answers to questions they all had. The creature, teeming with such dark forces and writhing currents of black energy- it had been hostile, hunting, approaching the mountain, as if it -new- what it was doing.

His wing dug into the snow, leg kicking him along further. He stumbled at times, falling down, but was primarily now hopping along on one leg- using the moutanin's face to steady himself. Blood matted his feathers alongside his wing, his leg bent at an odd position and throbbing with fresh pain with every renewed movement the avian made- he was beside himself in this torment, but one thing kept him going.

Everything he had was useless here. Courage he might not have, but heart he did, dammit. And he wasn't going to sit by while some cretin with a greatsword threatened to destroy everything and everyone he called 'home' and 'friend'.

* * *

Shifu watched the rising sun, breathing peacefully in the frozen air. He had woken at a sudden flare of magic, and had taken to watching the forest in the distance, ears twitching- with a cup of tea in his hands to warm him, of course. The other students slumbered- but one stirred after a while. He stood, shrugging off his sleeping roll and stretching- before approaching the lone master and sitting beside him, trying to pull his garnments tighter somehow.

Neither spoke for a long while- after all, body language and the like answered each other's questions, as both studied the other's face and form for a long period before turning to watch the forest. They both knew the other had sensed it- that they had felt the tug on the strings of the world, a sudden surge of wrongness in a plane, a forest, so naturally filled with right. And so they watched, waiting.

"...Crane back yet?"

"No."

Salu'ir smacked his lips, tasting the cold mountain's breath on his tongue. "Hope he didn't run into trouble. I mean...it's a monastery up there, and beyond that...I don't know what's out there beyond what keeps appearing in my dreams."

The red panda nodded sagely. "He will be able to handle himself." He gestured to the five resting behind them. "The warriors are made of far sterner stuff, you know, than most men or women around. Will is there weapon where their hands and cunning cannot tread."

"You really have a way with words," the human replied, scratching his head before looking back out and giving a deep sigh.

"Any idea of why there aren't any humans around here? I mean...I'm willing to accept that animals are now bipedal and can do martial arts and farm and...whatever-" he shrugged- "But that doesn't explain the difference between feral beasts and the regular...er. 'Beastfolk'? Is that the term?"

Shifu shook his head. "Written history, as far as I can remember, has no record of your kind, a 'Human'. We do, however know-" he gestured to the forest- "That at one point, the world around us- was a wasteland."

"Hmn?" The human leaned forward.

"Indeed, a wasteland, of sand and dead trees, teeming with unstable powers- or so the texts say." Shifu sipped his tea, pulling his robe a tad tighter. "B-"

Another flare of dark magic surged out, a faint purple light hovering in the forest beyond, near the border of the growing sunrise- lasting a good 4 or 5 seconds before fading away. Both took a moment to comprehend it before Shifu spoke first.

"...get some rest, Salu'ir." "Tha- wait, what?"

"Rest." Shifu motioned back to the group. "We double our pace tomorrow."

He hesitated for a moment before turning back around, laying in his sleeping mat. The last thing he swore he saw before closing his eyes was a combination of swishing tails and flicking ears from across the different warriors.

* * *

Crane hadn't returned, and the group had spent their time further climbing the mountain- leaving the browning and yellow grass behind and trading it for snow that fell gently or not at all, and left a pearl white coating on everything- or better yet, letting the gravel and thick stones and earth below shine through to offer their footsteps more purchase as they went along in their efforts to make their way forward.

Everyone seemed a tad tense at his disappearance- except for Shifu. Of course, he was good at masking his emotions totally, despite his flicking tail that often gave way to many emotions- Tigress, for example, was calm except for the darting tail behind her. But Shifu- completely calm as he guided the group along.

Salu'ir didn't know what to make of it all. Sure, he had been living with them for a while, but Crane had never bothered to explicitly interact with him- nor him with the bird. Thus, it was...'yeah, okay'. He understood everyone else's concern, but was more or less still trying to fend for himself.

A shiver ran up his spine briefly, serpentine coils shifting for a moment before settling as Viper adjusted her position, head poking out from his collar. Now, on the flipside, Viper was a definite friend- that, and she was clinging to his form due to his clothing offering a mixture of protection and insulation from the cold fury outside- the reptile wouldn't last all that long outside, and having a heated place to 'stay' while they went served double purpose- she kept him as warm as he kept her. Thus, it was more or less beneficial, symbiotic in nature.

And time went on, they marched throughout the day before setting up camp once more- oddly enough, they went fast, which either meant the mountain was relatively small, or the group was moving at a fast pace. But, remembering Shifu's wording the previous day- it's likely that they took that message, heard or unheard, to heart.

Po squatted near the fire, patting his stomach with a semi-dissapointed look. They had to eat -somewhat- reasonably, unable to completely gorge, which meant his sensibilities weren't being sated. He, of course, would survive- but there's always the desire for something to finish you off, when eating, when you've had a meal but can still fit just a -bit- more- that sort of hunger took the panda's gut. His fur was good at fighting off snow and cold by itself, sure, and Salu'ir had submitted early that he was going to use Po to sleep on- more heat- but they did what they could.

Salu'ir had brought along a few scrolls of Kung Fu to continue studying, and Viper was looking over his shoulder- explaining the occasional detail to him, of course. Shifu focused on drinking tea and meditating- Tigress, just...sulking? He respected her ability to focus, but she was always so... on-edge.

For a split second, he thought she could read his mind. He froze before focusing back on his scroll, looking up briefly.

Monkey, who had been standing guard, of course- sprung forward into the camp. "I need someone to come, quick! We found him!"

"And?"

"He got MESSED UP." Monkey was a pale blue, panting, white powder clinging to his fur. Tigress was already at his side, Po standing up with a concerned expression. Viper tugged on Salu's shoulder with her body- "They'll get him, we need to get the cots ready. Tent, quick."

They entered one of the pitched tents and sorted out what they needed quickly- a soft mat, a boiling pot of tea, bandages and water nearby in their own rolls and containers.

Crane was carried in and set down- we know how he looks, between the bloodied hole through his wing to the twisted leg and bruised face, pieces of his beak chipped and peeling. Beyond that, his body was locked in feverish shivering, having been lost in the cold for far too long. Overall- he was walking the thread that made the border between Life and Death, with hope favoring him thus far. Viper, filled with an obvious concern, had slithered out- working with Mantis (who had more or less become invisible, acting as a seperate scout and sticking near Shifu) to set his wounds properly.

Viper didn't join him, too concerned for the avian. Salu'ir watched her for a moment, thinking, before leaving them- breathing heavily.

What the hell had done that to Crane?

* * *

Shifu narrowed his eyes as they approached the structure, Viper coiled around Crane to help his body work where it wasn't able to like a living piece of rope, supporting his every movement. Crane had filled Shifu in when first available- that is to say, Shifu was watching him for when he first woke up. Shifu had then retained knowledge, only replying 'a temple' when someone asked- Crane offering bits and pieces when walking wasn't too strenuous. And now they stood in the courtyard before the temple.

Salu, Po, and Shifu could all feel it- this was a wellspring of Qi, as well. It was almost radiating it, similar to the rift- but this was more contained, more sustained, more...

 _More Controlled._

Salu'ir, suddenly overcome by excitement, darted forward ahead of the group. Excitement was running through his veins, even against the adverse shouts of his group. He vaulted up the stairs, swinging open the doors, chest heavy with each breath-

and a dark room greeted him, the echo sounding out for what felt like an eternity. His eyes widened as he saw a skeleton, clad in a robe, propped up against a pillar down the ways, now revealed by the wide-open door allowing the day's light inside.

But the Skeleton wasn't bestial, no. His blood ran cold as the jaw fell off, disturbed by gravity and wind, it's empty eyes absorbing the room.

 _It was human._


	10. Chapter 10

Alluari had long ago sensed the figures that the lord had commanded she find- a swarming mass of Qi all bundled together in a tight little pack of friendship, in one of the old temples they had devoted to researching the Qi when it had first appeared. She smirked to herself, bat wings beating in the air as she flew on, high above the world and a few stray clouds, remaining hidden- circling the mountain as she continued to analyze the situation while keeping her own power low, as not to draw attention to her nearly-perfect self.

They had arrived not long ago in the day, as had she- keeping far and watching them. They had seemed unsure at first, but had quickly settled in- and luckily, they hadn't quite seemed to make much sense of the information within. It was a matter of time until they found something that could properly combat Balthanax's great strength, so she had to act quickly- but she was not about to run into a group of martial artists, trained- even vaguely- in Qi yet so potently saturated with it.

She tsked, making another circle. Perfectly white teeth bit down on a dark amethyst lip, the darken-ess scrunching her forehead in thought.

How to go about this?

* * *

And indeed, they had been exploring- Tigress and Viper taking the initiative of two groups, The former leading Po and the Latter leading Mantis, leaving Crane in the care of Salu'ir and Shifu. They were wandering further down the main hall for the sake of exploration, but Salu'ir was still standing, dumbfounded, at the old skeleton.

Upon inspection, it was dressed in some sort of robe- something that reminded him faintly of ancient depictions of Asian-Centric Monks and martial artists. He had no weapons, and his robe was crested with some sort of rune- a Backward's 'S' with the Top fairly larger than the bottom half, a dot under the curl, the sigil itself woven with a golden thread onto the white chest. It was aged significantly, moldy at the hems of the cloth with holes being eaten through by varying moths that likely clung nearby.

They had taken to lighting the torches that lined the way, dim light casting ominous shadows along the temple's form. It was intricate, carved in an obvious Chinese fashion- with intricate carvings of dragons, serpents, and various other beasts relevant to their culture along with the odd tapestry depicting battle between armor-clad figures. Curiously, the skeleton near the entrance was the only one found- the rest of the place was empty.

To the left, upon entering the temple, lay two rooms- one being a sort of sleeping quarters that smelled of old must and seemed to at least faintly resist winter's chill- but most curiously, also a library, filled to the brim with scrolls that were written in an ancient dialect of the Chinese word- or so, they thought. To the right was a small training hall- busted training dummies lying in disrepair along with rusty weapons, rotted staves, and some old mats with burnt sticks of old incense, some of which had toppled over. And, at the end of the main hall, a small room extended into a kitchen with a dining table- function obvious.

Shifu noted all of this with a cold stare into the distant darkness, trying to make sense. _A temple, hidden in the mountains and completely untouched until now- with ancient knowledge locked behind a language barrier, and a skeleton that the human claims is one of his kind's?_ He shook his head, once, twice, ear twitching and tail batting back and forth. Like the Jade Palace, this temple had a central pool- but that was where it ended, as where the Jade Palace's was filled with water, this one was frozen over and had turned stagnant from the inside out.

 _Obviously, Salu'ir's kind lived here at one point. Some time, far ago. But then they left, all but one, who died due to...natural causes. Why did they leave? There is little in terms of damage here. There is no obvious disadvantage besides the mountain's climate, and that can be overcome with a great group effort. So why leave?_

He sighed before turning to look at the rapt human still staring at his fallen ilk's remains, frowning softly. _We will stay here- regain our strength. And hopefully- find whatever led us here._ Nodding to his unspoken decision, he approached, tapping him on the shoulder. "Salu'ir."

He didn't respond. Another tap with the gnarled staff stirred him from his fugue. "H-Hmn?" His face was...pale. Drained of it's usual color. Bright blue eyes, peering at him with fear. _A familiar fear,_ he realized, reflecting on their first encounter- his disorientation and frustration, his feeling of being lost. For a brief moment, he empathized- before his focus returned.

"...I understand you are feeling..." he struggled for the word. "...confused?" Salu'ir nodded, resolve returning- if vaguely. The old man tugged on his beard faintly, sighing deeply. "...we are making our camp here for the following day and night- both to recuperate, and to make sense of anything- to what might have led us here in the first place, or the reason why we were led here." He turned to regard the skeleton- eyes remaining on the row of teeth on each jaw and the empty eyes and nasal pits. "...if you-"

"Let me bury him," he interjected quietly. Shifu turned to study the human thoughtfully before nodding his head- he would do as he would.

"...alright. Then please, see if you can make sense of the Library's facets." He nodded before turning to the skeleton- using the clothing as a sack to gather his form before picking it up, pressing the great doors open enough to slip through, and trudging off through the winter.

He heard a slapping of leather against the floor of the temple, turning to face Viper- who was frowning vigorously. She shook her head- "Mantis was looking through the kitchen for anything of use, and-" She sighed, tail flicking back and forth for a moment. "...well. Humans made liquer, and lots of it."

Shifu raised an eyebrow, suppressing the urge to smirk or even respond positively. Of course, there was booze, these were still men isolated on a mountain with one another. He shook his head- "Tell no one, but if they happen to find out on their own- don't stop them." Viper nodded and slithered off- and for Mantis, he was likely dealing with a near-blackout experience. Little bodies need little alcohol to be overwhelmed, after all.

He turned towards the left and paused in the entryway, ears flicking as he listened with strain. Tigress and Po chatted along- well, what could be considered chatting, with Po making comments about what was on his mind, and Tigress making the occasional comment that showed how she had come out of her shell- particularly with her previous demeanor being completely quiet. He felt that same odd pride well somewhere in his gut as he tuned in.

"So they had beds, covers, all...this stuff. That means there's a kitchen somewhere, right?"

"..."

"Wonder what human food was like, if anything. I bet they used spice."

"..."

"Do you think they liked noodles? Ooooh, you think they even HAD noodles?!"

"...maybe."

Typicaly- Po, focused on food, and Tigress, mostly going along. He snorted, turning away before continuing back towards the main center, folding into a lotus pose and closing his eyes- re-beginning his meditation.

* * *

Everyone had more or less retired after cooking food, taking up residence in the old resting quarters- the bottom beds, as the top bunks were unstable (again, rotted wood). However, Salu'ir was more than adept at sneaking at this point- one had to try their best to remain stealthy when accompanied by some, especially on creaking wood floors in a dojo or crunching snow and gravel on a dark night. He had found his way to the scroll repository, tearing apart item after item and opening them to read.

Most were jumbles of sigils and words that he couldn't quite make out, as his sudden understanding of chinese had not extended to this sect- ancient and forgotten tongues that were lost to time. He squinted his eyes on occasion, making out a few phrases- but for the mostpart, it was illegible. He grabbed at his brain, growling at a monotone level- the slightest noise was bound to set anyone off- but he still felt the need to express his frustration.

He heard clacking. He turned his head to look at the door, tensing- waiting to get caught.

Crane turned the corner to look at him, hobbling slightly- squinting at him from under his hat. He smiled awkwardly, timidly, sighing. "...you...uh. Couldn't sleep either, huh?"

"Nah." Salu'ir shook his head for a moment before waving the bird over, patting the ground beside him. "I'm trying to make sense of these...things- Shifu wanted me to have a look at the Library, but I can't make heads or tails of any of this." He itched his head in thought, sighing. Crane frowned for a moment- looking over a scroll laying open on the floor, his good leg picking it up and carrying it over. "...you can't read these?"

He looked over at the bird who was studying the parchment, blinking. "You can?"

"I study the written script in my spare time, I- uh. I write?" He shook his head. "And study literature." Salu'ir scratched his chin for a moment- standing and sorting through the scrolls before taking out a scroll engraved with a visible 'Q'. He rolled it open- looking at it and a few others before looking at the others, before back to Crane. "Think you can translate a few of these?"

He nodded. "Given, uh. Given time, I could. And parchment, and ink, and- uh. And a brush."

Salu'ir pondered for a moment- all was plausible except for the ink, as he was pretty sure it was perishable- not much but a hunch in his gut. Another idea-

"Charcoal rubbings?" "Uh, that- yeah, could work."

The two then labored throughout the night- finding a sort of pattern to swing between each other, Crane Translating into seperate parchments as he held scrolls open on display, supplying him with paper he could find and the coal piece for when it ran out. Finally, they had translated a large majority- most of the first cabinet, along with the scroll engraved with the 'Q'.

Crane stretched, standing- beak snapping open as he yawned. "I...I'm fixing to pass out, I think. Good way to pass time." He flapped his good wing for a moment before regarding the human, who stood also to greet him- nodding his thanks. "Right. You...were a big help- we'll get the set back and translated fully, but you helped to a larger effort." Crane's head tucked further into his head, smiling awkwardly- Salu'ir crossing his arms and nodding. "R-Right, I- uh-" "Thanks. Go...get some sleep."

Crane turned and hobbled towards the door for a moment before turning around- eyeing the embossed scroll. "...why that one? Why go out of order?"

"Call it a hunch." Crane shook his head- leaving him. As soon as the bird had left audible range, he pounced on the translation of the great scroll- breathing heavily to himself as he rolled it open.

The translation, smeared slightly, detailed directing currents of energy throughout the body towards one's center- Qi, he imagined. It detailed some side effects as well as a strain- he skimmed over it eagerly before absorbing the instructions.

"'Gather every piece of your being, your atom, your fiber, and focus it into your center- magnify your strength, stretch it, and keep it expanded- and you will find your own power multiplied by your own. But be warned- **such power requires focus, and failure exacts a heavy cost.** "'

"'Qiojen'"

He studied the technique for a moment, thinking- feeling the ebb and flow of Qi through his form. He glanced at a few of the other scrolls- deciding training was likely more apt. If the other scrolls were anything similar to this...

Well. The Jade Palace had the Hundred Scrolls of Kung-Fu. This...mountain temple- it held the equivalent, for what he hoped it would be-

The Hundred Scrolls of Qi.

* * *

He retired at an extremely late hour at some point, resting little and gleaming sleep for roughly five hours before waking with everyone else for breakfast. The others went out to investigate the lost palace, inspecting for further clues and items of interest- or something akin to that- while Salu'ir studied the scrolls to his best ability.

Po and Shifu in particular were keen to feeling tugs of Qi from him rather spontaneously- the translations that he was provided by the currently-resting Avian master allowing him to tap into the inner flow of his power. From his hand he could expunge bursts of bright, golden light, or jade bolts that chipped away at the stone walls with sudden impacts- he could infuse himself with greater stamina and strength beyond what was possible. And beyond that, something of his own creation- pooling his energy into his hands before thrusting them together formed a twirling beam of Qi that shot forward.

Of course, he was exhausted, but kept pressing on- meditating and feeling the flow of Qi around him to revitalize his wearing form. Magical prowess caused him to levitate during a few kicks, gave him greater leaps and speed- it was amazing.

And all was going relatively well until a great crashing noise emanated from outside the temple's walls, a wrongness tinging the air almost immediately. Alluari looked up as the doors swung open to reveal the two most available at the moment- a twitching Shifu and a waiting Viper, each of who's eyes widened at the darken-ess that stood before them.

 _ **"Balthanax sends his regards~."**_


	11. Chapter 11

Alluari flapped her wings, allowing them to flex triumphantly in the bright mountain's sun. Shadow energies crept along her form, dancing between her hooves and fingertips with an eager-to-shine grace. Viper coiled around for a moment before striking, fast as a lightning bolt. The demon sidestepped the serpent's strike, reaching out a clawed grip to grab her midsection- wringing her out before throwing her back at Shifu.

The Red Panda caught the snake without much ease, the force of the impact causing his weight to shift a bit. He set her down properly in a series of fluid movements, ears swiveling as he tracked her movement-

She was already aiming a punting kick at him with a gnarled hoof. He leapt into the air and allowed the flow of Qi to surge through his form, infusing the palm of a strike as he shot it forward.

The strike made impact with her right shoulder, force magnified by the surging energy. She was sent staggering back, golden light appearing from small cracks in her flesh. She snarled at the two, wings beating hungrily.

Shifu's eyes narrowed as he assumed a defensive stance. "Hold the line. The others are on their way- we're making too much noise not to be noticed."

Viper paused for a moment before nodding.

Together, they engaged the darkeness.

* * *

Salu'ir could immediately feel the wrongness in the air, and the clashing outside was no meager idea. Crane had evidently been intrigued by such as well- both making their way towards the door before peering out.

The sight of Shifu and Viper fighting off the equivalent of a demon met their sight. Salu'ir turned pale as Crane visibly wilted, his feathers flattening against his body.

"C'mon, l-'

"No, Crane. Get back and...hide, or something, stay safe. You're injured in this state and likely won't be of all that much use."

Crane frowned for a moment, beak creasing as his eyebrow furrowed. He sighed in a defeated tone before hobbling back towards the temple.

Salu'ir looked back at the demonic figure. He had picked up -some- martial arts, but he needed to learn a lot more before he was put on-par with them.

But then the previous technique flashed in his mind. _That could even the playing field..._

But then Po and Tigress snapped into his mind- easily the strongest two here. Mantis, he...didn't know where he was, but they had the best shot.

He turned and ran down the hall, shoes squeaking against the floor as he made his way through the temple. Where were they, dammit?!

He suddenly collided with a wall of black and white, being bounced back onto his rear. Po staggered back, surprised but not as shaken, Tigress on his tail. They looked down at the human, gaze focused with something he hadn't seen rarely in the large ursine before.

"What's going on out there?" "Hell if I know, there's...some sort of DEMON, thing-"

Tigress snarled and darted out on all fours before he could finish. Po made to dash before the Human called out.

"WAIT!" "What?!" He turned around. "Every second y-"

"We'll buy time, but that thing is..." He struggled to find the words. "It's horrifyingly powerful. There's a scroll, with a 'Q' on it, in the Library- Learn the damn technique and face her as soon as you can!"

"W-" "JUST DO IT!"Salu'ir finally had found his feet again, dashing past the Panda- looking back with a frown. "Please, Po- it may be our only shot."

Conflicted for a moment, he nodded before darting his way through the Lost Temple. Salu'ir braced himself before stepping through the front doors.

* * *

Alluari ducked and weaved between fist and foot with relative ease, occasionally shaking free the odd sentient insect that somehow managed to latch onto her form before the Mantis could utilize his strength. She was curious, here, so curious- beasts, obviously, but so sentient and powerful? How had this occured?

Her shoulder still stung with the aftereffects of the Qi Palm the small panda had landed. It was time to stop playing and let a little loose, she figured- wings beating harshly to suddenly send them all back. Her four arms lifted to the skies, the sun blotting out with dark clouds gathering overhead.

A bolt of black lightning collided with her form, causing her to breath with labor. She felt the every twitch of her muscle, every beat of her veins, surge with that same tingling sensation- wings stretching with an eager groan to their form.

The lightning faded right as the Serpent lashed out with another tail-slash. This time, the darken-ess was ready- grabbing the tip of her tail and using her like a club- slamming her into the ground before hurling the serpent at the red panda.

She caught the insect in midair, crushing him- he screamed out, and she only purred down at him. She gave a firm ''crunch' with a fist before dropping the insect to the side and bunting him off to the side.

She felt another presence approaching, and fast at that. She turned to w-

A claw raked her face, the demon lifting a hand to cover her face. Something grabbed her midsection and lifted her- hurling her down at the ground.

She finally got an eyefull of the creature that was doing such- a tiger clad in a martial uniform. Twisting and parting her legs as she thrust a hand into the ground, she rose in a sort of helicopter kick- knocking away the multitude of fighters before her wings flapped her back and allowed her to land, curling around her form protectively with a glimmer of shadow.

"ENOUGH!" She lifted a palm, dark energies surging within, shades of jade and amethyst within the shimmering orb of energy. She made a chopping motion, the energy consuming her hand- each chop through the air sending a blade of energy that soared towards them.

The first to be struck by a blade of energy was Monkey- the wave of energy exploding upon contact and knocking him back, unconcious, fur singed and face bloodied. Viper and Mantis, despite their best efforts for cohesion, were honed in upon by shaking waves of similar matter- being blasted into a crater in the ground.

Tigress leapt in front of a blade headed for Shifu, the blast knocking them both back. The dust clearing, Shifu blinked, shaking off the stunning force that was seizing his chest- looking down at his pupil.

She was raggedly breathing, eyes wide with pain, fangs bared- Blood seeping from her maw in jagged coughs and uneven gasps as she ran a hand over her blast-marked uniform. Shifu stood, weakly as the demoness approached, aiming the chopping hand at them both.

"Pitiful. -This- is what piqued Balthanax's worries?" She snorted. "I've fought peasants with more drive than you all."

The hand began to descend...

 **CRASH!**

A sound like broken glass being grated across a porcelain floor sounded, Shifu's ears folding in momentarily. He looked to find Salu'ir standing before them, arms spread wide with-

 _With what looked like a barrier, spread between his hands._

He gave the barrier a push, a pulse of energy rocking outwards to conflict with the Demoness- and send her stumbling back. It faded, revealing the human, who assumed a fighting stance. _His left knee isn't bent enough._

She eyed him for a moment before grinning. "So, you're the Human I've heard so much about, darling." The voice was...syrupy, sweet. The Human stiffened, teeth gritting as he focused on the creature- she approached, languid steps allowing her hips to roll alluringly.

"I know, dear~... you're lost in a world that doesn't suit you. You're alone," she purred. "No one but sentient beasts to make company for you, in a strange land, no less!"

"How do y-" "You have the damned scent of an otherworlder on you, dear. This world doesn't have quite the amount of polution that still clings to your jacket, there." Her arms folded behind her back as she stepped forward, stopping a breath in front of him.

"...there's nothing for you here. With -them-," she spat, glancing around before focusing on the human- lifting a delicate hand to carress his frozen cheek. "...so come. Join the only other human here- we'll find you a way back, you and your...wonderful, abilities. So much more to tap into- humans, natural conduits of magic, always so...fascinating~."

Shifu frowned, watching the human. Surely he wouldn't give his resolve in like that, right?

He looked up, calm. The master waited with baited breath, Tigress paying a small amount of attention over her own suffering as well.

"I've got one word for you, uh...thing." She waited with a tilted smile- white teeth even further alluring.

 ** _"QIOJEN!"_**

 **BWOM.**

A shockwave of energy shot off around him, causing a buffet of wind and dust- Shifu covering his eyes with a sleeve as the demoness was sent spiraling back by the blast. She re-centered in the air, watching him, blinking.

"Now that's a technique I haven't seen in a while."

The human remained crouch, grunting with effort to maintain whatever was causing his power to buffet, to spill over. Shifu could feel his energy expanding up to a certain point, like somebody was somehow stretching a cup that would fit more water- but could snap back to how it was at any moment and took more effort to keep stretched.

The Human suddenly leapt into the air after the demon, aiming a glowing foot at their midsection- moving with a previously unseen speed. The woman lifted an arm to block him and returned with a hoof aimed for his ribs, which he took, coughing up a shower of blood- falling back to the ground and recovering at the last second to make an impact-reducing roll. She laughed down at him.

"Stressful, isn't it?" She taunted him with a finger. "Sure, you can double your power, but there's always a cost to it during and after! You must be desperate to try and take a shot at me with that!"

"Desperate, is...ergk." He coughed crimson into a fist, stumbling, the aura briefly flickering- before he refocused. "...desperate is goddamn right."

"You'll have to try harder to defeat me, dear." With that, she went soaring at him with malice-coated claws, light streaking in violet patterns in a faint aftertrail as the two engaged. As they watched, Salu'ir was very clearly kept on his toes- knowing little in the way of techniques, whatever raw power the technique he was using was making up for that to a point. But he wasn't going to hold forever, no, that much was clear.

He let out a shout as she buried her nails into an arm aimed for a block, wrenching his defenses open as she removed her talons and grabbed his shoulder. She formed a sharp elbow, slamming him with the front repeatedly, splitting his lip and cheeks in several places before she hugged him close and flapped upwards into the air.

He called on the current of Qi, maximized yet strained by the Qiojen surging through his form, and detonated in a shimmering orb of energy- knocking the demon off and leaving him to plummet towards the ground at a blazing velocity.

He landed, cratering. Sheer will alone kept him going as he maintained the Qiojen, gasping for breath- the Succubus landed across from him, growling- dirtied and covered in cuts and burns.

"You dirtied my perfect form, worm." She hissed, wings flaring. "YOU DIRTIED MY BEAUTY, AND THERE IS NO SIN GREATER IN MY EYES!" A dread aura erupted from her form. Salu, briefly glancing back at Shifu- who was dragging Tigress back to cover alongside a collection of the others, gave him a look. A look of pain, that of a parent's but not a wound's- before it hardened with a faint anger and coalesced in a nod to the human.

He let Qiojen fade, falling to his knees at the loss of energy, his expendatures returning to normal. His body convulsed as fatigue wracked it, the succubus laughing as her power rocketed ever further. "...finally."

"Die." She thrust her hands forward, and out snaked a violet beam of winding energy.

Salu'ir paused- gave a faint breath, as his thoughts turned to Po.

He hoped enough time had been bought.

* * *

The human's body collided with the wall, burned and singed and bruised and bleeding- the overall definition of physical trauma, to put it bluntly. He had lost consciousness moments before the dark beam had collided with him, and beyond that, it was unlikely he could feel anything now.

The Darken-ess huffed, furling her wings behind her back as she peered around. Where had the others gone?

"HEY!" A voice called from the Temple's Entrance, doors closing behind it. She turned to face the visage of a panda, down on his knees, breathing heavily. "...haaaah. Okay, long run- HEY YOU. Pick on someone your own size!'

"I did." She pointed at Salu'ir, to which Po paused for a moment, blinking. Glancing around the courtyard, he turned his attention back to the darkened figure.

"...alright. TRY ANOTHER! Who knows DRRRAAAGON STYLE!"

Both charged one another, fist colliding with fist to erupt a small Shockwave. Po's eyes widened before he let out a small 'woah'- after which he crumpled back and held his hand, shaking the fist loosely. "Ah, ah, ow..."

The darken-ess snorted before lifting a barbed hoof to kick. Unexpectedly, he lifted a meaty forearm to block, thick hide managing to brush away the barbs as he instead grabbed her leg and slammed her into the floor behind him, swinging like a club. In turn, she grabbed her claws into the floor and used his momentum against him, slamming him into the floor and landing in a standing position.

Unexpectedly, his belly acted as a spring, bouncing him back into the Demon. She stumbled back, hissing, regaining her balance-

Faster than expected, though, he had already rolled up aimed a sweeping kick at her feet. She went sideways, wings flapping to keep her afloat- a swift kick down at her midsection forcing her to ground already.

She let out an impatient roar, magical energy detonating around her form and sending him flying back- the Panda landing in a roll before a squat, one hand remaining on the earth. He stood tall, huffing- weariness beginning to show.

"How t...the hell am I losing, to a FAT and FLABBY BEAR?!" She pointed an accusing claw at him, snarling as her wings flexed. "I SHOULD BE ABOVE THIS! ALL OF YOU! I SHOULDN'T HAVE STRUGGLED WITH THE HUMAN AT ALL, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"

Po frowned. "Dude. You have an ego. Like, seriously."

That sent her fuming. Spreading her arms wide as a dark aura infused her once more, rubble began to levitate, forming jagged spears of rock. She thrust her hands forward, which in turn launched them.

The first few, he dodged narrowly before one shaved across his side under his left arm. He hissed, turning to the side which resulted in a dodge that slammed his ribs into the rock formation with enough force to shatter the brittle spear. His mind briefly flashed back to the scroll, the Panda letting out an impatient yell.

 ** _"QIOJEN!"_**

 **BOOOOOOOOM.**

A fierce orange aura erupted from the Panda, a foot flying forward to break apart the formation of rocks with sheer effort. "ANOTHER ONE?!"

More rubble found itself flying at him in jagged patterns- everything felt slower, though. He dodged and wove with ease, breaking some with his hands and feet while others he merely redirected or touched while passing.

His chest tightened. He couldn't keep this up for long. Summoning every ounce of Qi in his body, he found his way in front of the demon and let out a yell. He watched in seemingly slow-motion as she lifted glinting claws to cut him apart.

He thrust his hands forward, pouring forth everything he had. The result was a dual-handed shove that erupted with a blast of raw Qi, her chest caving as she was sent flying back. THe rocks stopped coming as his aura faded, the Panda falling to his knees in heavy breathing as discomfort clawed at his system.

"H...how- how dare...you...?!" She stared at him weakly from her crater, mutilated physically to the point of no return. Even to the untrained eye, it was clear she wasn't long for the world.

Po approached and sat down in front of her, expression a deadly calm behind physical weariness. She spat a droplet of violet blood before him, wings twitching weakly.

"Don't you see? Didn't you hear any stories?" He sighed. "You're the bad guy, and they always lose. Simple as that."

She gave a barking, hoarse laugh.

 _"I failed, yes...but my Master..."_

...

 _"Balthanax...will tear this w-world... **asunder..."**_

She quivered, taking her final breath before growing still. Po shook his head and stood, looking at the ruins...of the ruins- before limping off to find Shifu.


	12. Chapter 12

He had been tired. That was the extent, too.

That's all he knew.

He was too tired to even dream, even though he spent so long inside of his head. He was waiting for something to wake him up that wasn't going to come, it seemed. But he didn't have any other choice but to cling to hope and wait.

That, or go mental. Lose himself inside his own head.

Part of him wondered why that was such a bad idea.

The other part argued that he would never get home. After all, he wanted to go back- not to the crappy job and economy and government and whathaveyou, but to some sort of...return. That's where his mother was, his father.

God, he was left wondering how much time had passed on that end? Was this real, even? Some sort of psychadelic dream sequence that he was trapped in?

He missed having parents to turn to. He had just left home after passing college, sure, but family was important. And now...

He was alone. For the first time, he was truly alone. And it had to be with a bunch of martial-art obsessed walking fursonas off the internet somewhere. IN CHINA. He spoke fluent CHINESE.

Salu'ir went over these realizations over and over again in his head, trying to console himself without much aid. He wanted to get home.

But then there was a light- a faint, blue, midnight-sky light, but a light. He held onto it for dear life...

* * *

His eyes slowly fluttered open. Everything was blurry. Everything was-

His eyes shot wide open. _HUNGRY! THIRSTY!_

He rubbed his eyes, knees curling under the thick blanket to near his chest. He was shivering. _He was thin._

He waited for his sight to clear, which of course it eventually did. With it returned a majority of his senses- first fixating his sight, then taste, on food and water, gone cold long ago, left on his nightstand.

Scarfing down everything he could and drinking every drop of water that felt like a renewing draught, he felt his strength return- not to the extent he was used to, though, no. Next he realized just how heavily bandaged he was- his arms covered from wrist to shoulder in varying patterns of wrappings, from his ankles to his upper thighs, bandages and even a splint for a sore leg that, oddly, was functioning well. The bandages sagged, however- due to his thin-ness.

He felt a gaunt cheek. He clearly hadn't been eating well. Atrophied, to some extent. But there was still something...off.

He decided he needed fresh air. Swinging his feet over the edge of the bed, he put his weight on his feet- slowly, surely, he rose, stretching and tenderly feeling sore pieces of flesh. He looked off to the side, shivering- _it was cold, dammit._

He grabbed the somehow-intact hoodie- sewn together in patchwork patterns- and slipped it on, zipping it slowly, not out of a desire to be quiet but because his strength was simply that feeble. He then grabbed the blanket and pulled it around his shoulders like a cloak, before slowly opening his door- creeping out, closing it, and shuffling away.

He turned and exited the habitation area to examine the outside clad in old snow. Winter had come, it seemed.

It was almost ghostly, walking down the path in slow, feeble steps, wandering the Jade Palace alone. The winter air clawed at his throat with every breath, filling his lungs, prompting him to pull the blanket further around himself.

Before he knew it, he was at a small cliff, a tree overhanging- bearing peaches on it's branches. He reached up, took one, and sat- digging in with his fingernails to open the fruit's contents.

Here he was alone. And hungry. He finished it quicker than he realized, giving a sigh of relief- dropping the scattered remains to the side.

Tigress brushed them off of her lap. Salu'ir would've startled if he had the energy, instead giving a faintly surprised look. "Wh-"

"You're louder than you think," she replied, voice monotone. He edged away slightly from the massive feline, eyeing the hooked claws on her hands before curling up further. "...and y-you're...following a man wishing f-for privacy."

"No. I'm following a dead man walking to make sure he doesn't die again." Her tail flicked back and forth.

"..." He remained silent, looking back at the view. "How long have I been out?"

"Three Weeks, Four Days. We've done what we can to keep you alive." His eyes pierced the night veil for a moment as an eye rested on the row of sharp razors making up her teeth- the jagged maw of a tiger. Swallowing his urge to run, he looked back. "...alright. T-Thanks. W-"

"It'll be explained in time," she replied. "You bought enough time for Po, though, if that's what you're asking."

"So we...w-won." He breathed out. "...against t...that t-thing. B...but not..."

"No." They both frowned. "That was not your 'Balthanax'."

"...well. We..." He shook his head, resisting his teeth's urge to chatter. "I'll learn eventually, r-right."

She stiffened for a moment before looking at him. "...you need to go back to bed."

"Not arguing." She frowned for a moment before her tail stretched out- tapping against his back. "Wait."

"..." He froze as she turned her full attention to him. Her expression was...ever-stony, but it was as if somebody had added a few droplets of confusion as well as sorrow somewhere in there.

"...I notice you...fear me. More than the others." She cleared her throat. "...given that we are to be fighting and training alongside...one another, for a while. I would like to know what about me...intimidates you. For something you can work on."

"Don't you mean 'you' can work on?" Her eyes narrowed, an unspoken warning of 'Don't push it'. He cowed.

"...alright. W-well, uh...I guess it's mostly, that...you're a full-on tiger?"

She frowned, confused. "What do you mean?"

"I...mean...in my world, we have...humans, like me. But also animals. Mostly...ferals. Among them, b-being..." He gestured at her. "Tigers. Chinese Tigers, i...in particular- are very...intimidating, predators. M-Most big cats in general." He shrinks away. "S...so it's mostly a..."

She looked to the side, frowning. _"...nster."_ "Hmn?" "What." She looked back at him, stony expression still there, the cracks re-sealed.

He shook his head. "...think I'm h-hearing things. I'm...going back to bed, now." He stood, slowly, uneasily- before nearly falling forward over the cliff-

A single large orange mitt grabbing his hood, saving him. Tigress set him back on his feet and dusted her hands off, huffing. He looked down at her into the raging, flaming eyes of orange and yellow-

He shook himself away, nodding a mute thanks before hobbling back.

* * *

Shifu pored over the scroll, drinking in every written sigil as if it were a new form of lifeblood. What they had found at what they had deemed the 'Lost Temple', was a repository of knowledge- in fact, the equivalent to the Thousand Scrolls of Kung-Fu - The Eight-Hundred Scrolls of Qi. Detailed notes, on using the power, allowing it to flow through different gates in the body to achieve different effects- it was all fascinating.

The physical displays, of course, used human anatomy, but given how they had estimated he wasn't all that dissimilar from, say, Tigress or Po, the translations were easy enough when drawing the different magical portcullises through the different common animal bodies. But Shifu, to say the least, was intoxicated with this new influx of information.

He had long found the scroll that both Salu'ir and Po had used against the fight of Balthanax's Minion- this 'Qiojen'. In detailed notes, it was effectively put as such-

 _"The Qiojen is a technique that, in possibility, can double one's potential and ability- and even further beyond multiply it. However, to put it simply- it requires a hefty amount of concentration to maintain, and exacts a toll when the transformation is ended. This can manifest in a number of ways, but are all physical- and treatable, through Qi-based therapy._

 _First, summon one's Qi to bear, and allow it to flow into the center of your chest- where it will permeate all other parts of you by seeping into your muscles and blood. Then, focus on it- a helpful example for our students is picturing it as a rubber band. Stretching it, further and further. You must keep the band stretched open, but while it is done so, you may fit more within it to hold. However- just as anything, when you are ready to release it, prepare for the eventual slap on your fingers, that moment of rebuttal that stings many for so long._

 _Also be careful your Qi does not over-extend yourself. Just as the rubber band stretches, it may also break. If you over-extend yourself and are overcome with the effort it takes to maintain your Qiojen, disastrous consequences will be at hand- you will require a lengthy recuperation period in both physical and magical training. After such, it is warned against training with such again- but then, is not the point of learning to learn the way to truly accomplish something?_

 _WARNING- Do NOT attempt if you are unskilled with your Qi manipulation. Extremely dangerous as a technique."_

Shifu had even triggered the technique in himself briefly with experimentation- feeling renewed power surge through him first, then a faint exhaustion that soon passed as he released it. This also explained the difference between Po and Salu'ir's condition.

Salu'ir had lost control and had been overcome, trying to push himself further- but Po had the upper hand and needed only a boost, nothing more. It explained why he was still up and functioning- and why he ate more than usual, which was saying something.

Salu'ir's condition curdled Shifu's memories, prompting him to reach down and take a swig of his flask of Baijiu, letting the heavy alcohol run down his throat for a moment before folding the flask back into his robes. It hurt to think about the human.

He had full-well known he couldn't withstand the demon, and had stood forward anyways- buying Time for the Dragon Warrior to be the hero, as always. He didn't blame him for being out for so long- he owed him proper thanks, whether or not anyone realized what Salu'ir had done.

His ear twitched to the sound of footsteps- two. Faint, one...hobbling, the other near-silent and padded. He recognized Tigress right away, but the first pair...

 _No, he yet sleeps. Perhaps the next morning..._

* * *

Balthanax looked at the horn fragment, rotating it over and over again in his hand. He felt the curvatures and indents, feeling the spiral of it, the natural incline. Pocketing it gently, he took his blade, humming with energy, and lifted it over his shoulder.

They had found Qioj's monastery. They were...on -some- sort of trail.

Did they know about magic's potential yet?

...he didn't think so. Watching Alluari, they had only managed to take the lessons of Qi to heart.

There was still time.

He took his blade and plunged it into the earth, cracks rising in the ground as the grass died near-instantly. Dark energy tore forward, turning a circle before forging a portal leading to an abyss down below.

And from it, a horror reached it's arm forward, entering a new world.


	13. Chapter 13

AN- So. Updates are going to be coming out in less sporadic bursts, but I do have an actual story line to follow with this now- and I'm going to do my best to follow through on it, as well as trying to flesh out the magic as well as some of the training more. I don't want to leave any characters out, as it's moreso between an outcast thrown into their world- thus, anyone in that world that comes into contact has the right to interact- but as time goes on...well. We'll see how and if I'm able to incorporate them.

I also might do some revisiting of some early chapters during slow lulls- touch-up on them properly. But I'm going to put the majority of my focus onto this project when I'm able- after that, I'll work on a few other things before -maybe- coming back to it.

Beyond that, questions are more than welcome in the reviews and/or comments. Leave 'em if you want! Y'know, uh...if anyone does that.

* * *

His Qi had been completely upset since the fight against the dark one- no, not in that his Qi was feeling mooded, but rather...out-of-whack. He could control it for brief incraments, but little beyond that- which infuriated him.

He was losing strength- he didn't have the year's-worth of training the others did, so his excelling in Qi was the only thing he truly had going for him as an advantage over most- but now that was being torn apart from him, and it hurt.

Meditation did little- he was certainly steadier in energy than he was in times before, but not by all that much. Shifu had been poring over the scrolls since they had taken them from the Lost Temple, and had begun to train as vigorously as he could- momentarily confronting the human on the nature of his ailment. He refused to take it easy, however- if his Qi would not work, then his body would have to learn to.

Thus, he continued- studying the various types of Kung Fu from the scrolls and practicing putting them into action. He was, of course, slipping up rather frequently- devouring every technique with new hunger nonetheless, until Po walked in one of his breaks.

"Yo'." "Hey." The human looked over, giving a nod and a wave. The Panda looked over to notice the abundance of scrolls in two different piles- eyebrow raising before he looked back at him. "You've been busy."

"If my energy will not fight with me, then I will have to learn myself," he replied. The panda thought for a moment- "Okay. Spar."

"What?"

"C'mon. Spar with me. Show me what you learned." He stepped back, beckoning the human over before raising his fists defensively. Salu'ir paused for a moment before standing- shaking off fatigue and adopting a basic fighting pose.

"So when do we..." "Uh...I guess when one of us attacks?" They stared at each other for a moment before Po cracked a grin- Salu'ir admitting a small, worn smile.

"Alright, we...both count to three and attack then?" "Sounds good to me."

They waited.

"3...2...1...-"

In a blur, black and white met skin and flesh- Po having narrowed in and opened with a kick while Salu'ir had aimed for a sledgehammer blow, the two attacks colliding and stopping. Both hopped back.

Salu'ir, still gaining his balance, blinked as the Panda rolled in- aiming a gnarled paw at his gut. He took it, sputtering for a moment, gasping- before recognizing another fist coming in. He held up his left arm, brushing it to the side, gripping, yanking his defenses open-

Faster than he could realize, the Panda flipped over him, aiming a spinning kick at his back. The human was sent tumbling, slowly getting to his feet and adopting another fighting stance again.

"...hmn. You're trying too hard." "What?"

"No, I did the same thing." Po stood tall, crossing his arms. "You're fighting too much like you're taught. You need to fight like you."

"That...makes no sense. How am I going to fight Balthanax by being my best me?"

"I know it sounds stupid, but...try it. Do what comes to your mind easily, don't try to pinpoint something in the back of your head."

Po adopted his stance. Salu'ir, after a moment of debate, chose his- closest to a Boxer's, with the hands and shoulders a little looser.

A moment of silent tension...

Suddenly, Po shot forward, aiming another kick. He blocked it with the back of his right arm and pressed out in a buffering move, the knock-away pressing him onto his rear. Quickly, he leapt forward- aiming a kick into the floorboards.

Po rolled aside and sprung to his feet, leaving his foot to crash through the wood. He yanked it free in time to face the bear, who was already aiming a knock-away kick at his face.

Slow-Motion seemed to come to him as the foot collided. His breath increased. The room was brighter. The bear's jade eyes were wild with excitement.

He felt it.

Taking the blow and rolling to the side, he tucked a fist into his chest, tapping into his flow of Qi. He could feel it all swarming forward.

Po, dashing forward, feinted a kick before leaping over the human, facing his behind-

Salu'ir pivoted a foot, turning to face his rear as the Panda landed, and extended his Qi-charged fist.

An explosion of force sent the Panda rocketing back, jolting through his arm with enough force to numb it. Orange afterglows still clung to his fingers and thumb, which he utilized as the remaining drifts of Qi to leap into the air, twisting around as he felt it come naturally.

A heat consumed his leg, burning down to his soul. Right as he landed-

He launched the Exploding Kick at the Panda- the blast sending them both away. Po stood, his guard up, after the dust cleared- fur dirtied and matted, but still wild with excitement, not visibly hurt in any large way. He laughed lightly.

"AWESOME!" "T...that was what I was going to say." He looked down at his smoking pant leg, almost burned to a crisp- his leg had -literally- caught on fire, it seemed. Weariness tugged at his being, a gasp coming over him as he fell to his knees. The Panda blinked, hurrying over to offer a hand up- "You okay?"

"..." He could feel it, flexing his fingers. His Qi had been...broken-through, again. Racing through his veins, awakened by combat.

He took his hand, standing- a giant grin on his face. "I feel excellent, to be honest."

Po laughed- before blinking once more as the Human suddenly hugged him. He awkwardly patted his back. "...uh. Hugs are...nice, too."

"...thanks, Po." "Don't mention it."

...

"...want to get something to eat?" "Sure."

* * *

He pulled his cloak tighter around his form, careful to keep what he could concealed. He had worn a larger cloak and had equipped a pair of five-fingered gloves that loosely fit him that the geese had put together- and given the winter, it was necessary, as well.

The animals that could see under his hood- that being, most of them- gave him a glance, if they decided to look up at him. Some were confused and continued on- some simply gaped, some appeared angry and some appeared in wonder- but nonetheless, most avoided him- by factor of him following the Dragon Warrior, and him being a taller figure than most others.

They turned and twisted through a few roads before arriving at the main Noodle Shop- entering under the alcove into a small courtyard. Some patrons went about their business, some eyed his cloaked form curiously- pulling his hood farther to hide his face- before a goose-folk erupted from the main kitchen and waddled over, extending his arms- and before you knew it, hugging the Panda. "Po! I was getting worried, you hadn't come down for a while now-"

His eyes darted over to the cloaked human, smile immediately lighting up- something he was somewhat familiar. There was a fire in his eye- something like someone at Best Buy would get. That was a merchant's gaze, hungry for a bargain, a hook and a line thrown out in the form of the delicious smell wafting fourth from his kitchen.

The look flickered for a moment as he got a glimpse up the hood- into the face that was his. Salu'ir shuffled for a moment in discomfort as the Goose took in the information- looking back at Po with a mixture of confusion and suspicion. "...is that the one I've...the one that..."

"Yep. That's him." Po wrapped an arm around the human's shoulder. "'s my pal. Salu'ir. Newcomer."

He, thankfully, kept it ambiguous enough to where unwanted attention was not attracted- most minding their own business besides the awing glances at the Dragon Warrior. The Human extended a hand from his cloak's form- the five, pale fingers offering a handshake. 'Good to meet you, Mr. Ping. You've raised a hero to more than just the Valley and Five- you raised a damned good cook, too." Salu'ir let the statement settle for a moment, the Goose's facial structures twitching. He leapt in for the kill- "Plus, I've heard from Po that what you make is about twice as good as his. I'd like to see it for myself."

The Goose thought for a moment at the words- flattery eventually getting the better of him as he resumed his carefree grin, hugging him around the waist. "Well, a Friend of Po is just as welcome as any of the Five! So-" He led them through the crowded tables and seats to the deck. -"What is it you were feeling like."

"Secret Noodle Soup, of course." Po scratched his belly. "...Dumpling, Dragon Warrior Size? Two of 'em?"

The goose laughed. "Comin' right up!"

* * *

Customers came and went- day fading to afternoon, and afternoon to the early stages of night. Po ate heavily and...Salu'ir ate...less, heavily- But thanks to the attitude of the goose and the atmosphere of the cheery Restauarant, they kept eating.

Salu'ir, of course, had no money, so Po had to foot the bill to his dad. Yeah, he's got a debt.

But in the end, it was simply a...merry night. They spent the winter night eating, talking, and laughing over stories. Salu'ir had somewhat explained the idea of some of his century's electrical products- and by god, it was intoxicating, once he understood, to finally have someone to rant to.

Looking back at the Panda over his shoulder, he smirked. The human held up a fist- Po blinking. "What?"

He gestured it forward. Po blinked before softly smiling- returning with his own fist-bump.

And it was peaceful.

...or at least, until they turned the corner.

They were nearly hit by a projectile sheep flung their way, Po catching the elderly lady and setting her down. She fixed her glasses and hobbled off after directing their attentions to a gang of some rather surly wolves- currently harassing a caravan of sheep.

Po stepped forward and entered a fighting stance- before Salu'ir stopped him. "...let's try scare tactics."

He approached, stripping the cloak off and throwing it to the side- letting the frozen winds permeate his clothing and take further grip of his muscles. He clapped thrice- loud and slow, the wolves of the canines slowly turning to look his way.

It was, at this moment, that he crouched, hands tucking in near to his waist. He let out a roar, feeling that tightness in his chest press once more, resisting- that aftereffect of Qiojen's failure-

He willed past it, feeling the rush of Qi, numbing and warming against the winter air, surround him. He willed it forward, from the ground, from every pebble and cobblestone nearby, willed it to flourish, flow through him as a conduit-

He felt it. Love, warmth. The backing of the earth. With a yell, He stood tall once more- feeling a rush of air, a vaccuum, almost.

Perhaps because _he_ was causing the fierce winds, maintaining a surging presence of energy strong enough to disrupt the air around him with every pulsing blast. He gave a sharp inhale, feeling it course through him- flexing a hand's individual fingers along his hand before leveling his gaze at the wolves.

He imagined he looked something...terrifying- acting as a conduit for the Lands' Qi as he was. This theory seemed to prove true, as all of them seemed cowed. All except-

One suddenly lunged forward, a hidden dagger erupting from his wrist and aiming towards his shoulder. He stepped to the side, doing what came first to mind- hands reaching up to take the rest and further the momentum, driving it into the wolf's knee. After which, he gave a straight kick upwards- before a side-kick towards the other clump of wolves, who caught their ally with a sudden hesitation. Huffing, for a moment- they scurried off.

He let the Qi fade, feeling it flow back into the land- a small wave of exhausting euphoria washing over him. That was not -wild- or uncorrupted magic, nay. That was nature.

Qi at it's essence.

He looked back at Po- who gave him a thumbs up. "...nice. Would've gone for breaking the cart with a single kick, though. Scare tactics."

"...good idea. Lot better than mine."

* * *

Balthanax wandered down the old graveyards, letting his hand slap the occasional stone with a 'clank'. He breathed heavily for a moment, the musty smell of the old, dead souls resting beneath.

Waiting to be awakened.

He lifted a hand and called out- a dark rift of energy pouring forth a vortex of shadow magic into his palm. The sudden impact of the energies staggered him before he fully mastered them- directing them outwards with a rumbling hiss of his tongue in a long-dead language.

Runes erupted over the sleeping humans, before dark amalgamations passed through their portals- things of flesh and bone and nightmare and rot, not...anything remotely humanoid. Writhing beasts with fangs of darkness.

Here would be his staging ground- the home of his first army. Letting the spell fade, he turned to face the distant Valley.

Soon enough.


End file.
